Crew

Launched:

• 1 Yuri Malenchenko (1) - Commander
• 2 Talgat Musabayev (1) - Flight Engineer

Landed:

• 1 Yuri Malenchenko (1) - Commander
• 2 Talgat Musabayev (1) - Flight Engineer
• 3 Ulf Merbold (2) - AI - Germany

Mission Parameters

• Mass: 7150 kg
• Perigee: 202 km
• Apogee: 222 km
• Inclination: 51.6°
• Period: 88.5 min

Mission Highlights

Commander Malenchenko and Flight Engineer Musabayev, spaceflight rookies, were to have been launched with veteran cosmonaut Gennadi Strekalov, who would have returned to Earth with Viktor Afanaseyev and Yuri Usachyov in Soyuz-TM 18 after a few days on Mir. However, cancellation of one of two Progress-M cargo ships scheduled to resupply Mir during the Agat crew’s stay meant Strekalov’s couch had to carry supplies. The result was an unusual all-rookie flight. Docking occurred without incident on July 3. On November 3, Musabayev, Malenchenko, and Merbold undocked in Soyuz-TM 19 and backed 190 m from Mir. They then activated the Kurs automatic approach system, which successfully redocked the spacecraft. The cosmonauts then transferred back to Mir. The test was related to the difficulties Soyuz-TM 20 and Progress-M 24 experienced during their automatic approaches. Final undocking and reentry the following day occurred without incident.

Mission accomplishments

• Docked with Mir
• Exchange part of crew
• Conducted medical experiments
• Conducted materials experiments
• Both cosmonauts perform EVA 09.09.1994 (5h 6m) to repair station's external insulation
• Both cosmonauts repeat EVA on 14.09.1994 (6h 1m) for same purpose
• First successful manual docking of a Progress supply ship

Notes

Both cosmonauts and Doctor Valeri Polyakov (arrived on Soyuz TM-18) became the 16th resident crew; many technical problems with the station arose during this mission, necessitating a previously untried manual supply dock by Malenchenko.