Soyuz-TM

The Soyuz TM () were fourth generation (1986–2002) Soyuz spacecraft used for ferry flights to the Mir and ISS space stations. The Soyuz spacecraft consisted of three parts, the Orbital Module, the Descent Module and the Service Module.

The first launch of the spacecraft was the uncrewed Soyuz TM-1 on May 21, 1986, where it docked with the Mir space station. The final flight was Soyuz TM-34, which docked with the International Space Station and landed November 10, 2002.

Background After the Apollo-Soyuz Test project in 1976, the Soyuz for crewed flights had the singular mission of supporting crewed space stations. The original Soyuz had a limited endurance when docked with a station, only about 60 to 90 days. There were two avenues for extending the duration of missions past this. The first avenue was to make upgrades to increase the Soyuz spacecraft's endurance. The Soyuz-T could last 120 days and the Soyuz-TM could last 180 days. The other was to use a Visiting Expedition to fly a new Soyuz up to the station and depart with the spacecraft nearing the end of its rated endurance.

The preliminary design was released in April 1981 and the main set of working documentation was released in early 1982.

Upgrades from Soyuz-T

Orbital Module With the growth of orbital complexes, the Soyuz-T used the Igla system that required continuous orientation with the station and had high fuel costs. The Soyuz-TM was upgraded with the Kurs system that did not require the same orientation from the station and allowed measurements from a range of 200 km instead of the 30 km of the Igla.

Descent Module It also increased the payload to 51.6° orbit by 200–250 kg and was able to return 70–90 kg more back to earth. Energia accomplished this by increasing the capabilities of the launch vehicle and decreasing the mass of the ship. The parachute system mass was decreased by 120 kg (40%) by using synthetic material for the slings and lightweight material for the parachute domes.

Propulsion/Service Module It also featured a new KTDU-80 propulsion module that permitted the Soyuz-TM to maneuver independently of the station, without the station making "mirror image" maneuvers to match unwanted translations introduced by earlier models' aft-mounted attitude control. It also used the baffles inside the tanks became structural, allowing further reduction in mass.

Typical Flight for Soyuz-TM

Training

Classroom training is completed on Soyuz systems and required crew operations. Cosmonauts must pass an oral test on the material for certification. Training was also completed on Soyuz mockups and simulators. Two weeks before launch, after passing all the tests, the crew is flown to Baikonur to participate in a test at the launch site to go through all the steps associated with the launch.

For Flight Readiness The final decision to launch is made by the assembly company (General Designer). There is a Space Committee formed of approximately 20 people headed by a 3-star General for Air and Space with the following representation:

RSA NPO-Energia General Designer Central Institute of Machine Building Ministry of Defense Physicians Baikonur

When different companies/countries are involved, they are represented as well at on the Space Committee. For Soyuz launches, the Ministry of Defense representative states that everything has been checked because all preparations at Baikonur are performed by the military. Independent assessment is made by the Central Institute of Machine Building for every flight. Cosmonauts had to get clearance from the Russian Medical Commission, the Institute of Biomedical Problems and the GCTC at the flight readiness Review.

Launch

Space Station

Landing

Table of Flights

Mission Launch Launch Crew Landed Landed Crew Duration Summary Soyuz TM-1 21 May 1986 30 May 1986 9 days Uncrewed test flight Soyuz TM-2 5 February 1987 Mir EO-2:  Yuri Romanenko  Aleksandr Laveykin 30 July 1987 Mir EP-1:  Aleksandr Viktorenko  Muhammed Faris Mir EO-2: Aleksandr Laveykin 174 days Soyuz TM-3 22 July 1987 Mir EP-1:  Aleksandr Viktorenko  Muhammed Faris Mir EO-2:  Aleksandr Pavlovich Aleksandrov 29 December 1987 Mir EO-2:  Yuri Romanenko  Aleksandr Pavlovich Aleksandrov Mir LII-1:  Anatoli Levchenko 160 days Soyuz TM-4 21 December 1987 Mir EO-3: Vladimir Titov  Musa Manarov Mir LII-1:  Anatoli Levchenko 17 June 1988 Mir EP-2: Anatoly Solovyev  Viktor Savinykh  Aleksandr Aleksandrov 178 days Soyuz TM-5 7 June 1988 Mir EP-2:  Anatoly Solovyev  Viktor Savinykh  Aleksandr Aleksandrov 7 September 1988 Mir EP-3:  Vladimir Lyakhov  Abdul Ahad Mohmand 91 days Soyuz TM-6 29 August 1988 Mir EP-3:  Vladimir Lyakhov  Abdul Mohmand  Valeri Polyakov 21 December 1988 Mir EO-3:  Vladimir Titov  Musa Manarov Mir Aragatz:  Jean-Loup Chrétien 114 days Soyuz TM-7 26 November 1988 Mir EO-4:  Alexander Volkov  Sergei Krikalev Mir Aragatz:  Jean-Loup Chrétien 27 April 1989 Mir EO-4:  Alexander Volkov  Sergei Krikalev  Valeri Polyakov 151 days Soyuz TM-8 5 September 1989 Mir EO-5:  Aleksandr Viktorenko  Aleksandr Serebrov 19 February 1990 Mir EO-5:  Aleksandr Viktorenko  Aleksandr Serebrov 166 days Soyuz TM-9 11 February 1990 Mir EO-6:  Anatoly Solovyev  Aleksandr Balandin 9 August 1990 Mir EO-6:  Anatoly Solovyev  Aleksandr Balandin 179 days Soyuz TM-10 1 August 1990 Mir EO-7:  Gennady Manakov  Gennady Strekalov 10 December 1990 Mir EO-7:  Gennady Manakov  Gennady Strekalov Reporter:  Toyohiro Akiyama 130 days Soyuz TM-11 2 December 1990 Mir EO-8:  Viktor Afanasyev  Musa Manarov Reporter:  Toyohiro Akiyama 26 May 1991 Mir EO-8:  Viktor Afanasyev  Musa Manarov Project Juno:  Helen Sharman 175 days Soyuz TM-12 18 May 1991 Mir EO-9:  Anatoly Artsebarsky  Sergei Krikalev Project Juno:  Helen Sharman 10 October 1991 Mir EO-9:  Anatoly Artsebarsky Others:  Toktar Aubakirov  Franz Viehböck 144 days Soyuz TM-13 2 October 1991 Mir EO-10:  Alexander Volkov Others:  Toktar Aubakirov  Franz Viehböck 25 March 1992 Mir EO-10:  Alexander Volkov  Sergei Krikalev Other:  Klaus-Dietrich Flade 175 days In orbit during the Dissolution of the Soviet Union Soyuz TM-14 17 March 1992 Mir EO-11:  Aleksandr Viktorenko  Aleksandr Kaleri Other:  Klaus-Dietrich Flade 10 August 1992 Mir EO-11:  Aleksandr Viktorenko  Aleksandr Kaleri Other:  Michel Tognini 145 days Soyuz TM-15 27 July 1992 Mir EO-12:  Anatoly Solovyev  Sergei Avdeyev Other:  Michel Tognini 1 February 1993 Mir EO-12:  Anatoly Solovyev  Sergei Avdeyev 188 days Soyuz TM-16 24 January 1993 Mir EO-13:  Gennadi Manakov  Alexander Poleshchuk 22 July 1993 Mir EO-13:  Gennadi Manakov  Alexander Poleshchuk Other:  Jean-Pierre Haigneré 179 days Soyuz TM-17 1 July 1993 Mir EO-14:  Vasili Tsibliyev  Aleksandr Serebrov Other:  Jean-Pierre Haigneré 14 January 1994 Mir EO-14:  Vasili Tsibliyev  Aleksandr Serebrov 196 days Soyuz TM-18 8 January 1994 Mir EO-15:  Viktor Afanasyev  Yury Usachov  Valeri Polyakov 9 July 1994 Mir EO-15:  Viktor Afanasyev  Yury Usachov 182 days Soyuz TM-19 1 July 1994 Mir EO-16:  Yuri Malenchenko  Talgat Musabayev 4 November 1994 Mir EO-16:  Yuri Malenchenko  Talgat Musabayev Euromir 94:  Ulf Merbold 125 days Soyuz TM-20 3 October 1994 Mir EO-17:  Aleksandr Viktorenko  Yelena Kondakova Euromir 94:  Ulf Merbold 22 March 1995 Mir EO-17:  Aleksandr Viktorenko  Yelena Kondakova  Valeri Polyakov 169 days Soyuz TM-21 14 March 1995 Mir EO-18:  Vladimir Dezhurov  Gennady Strekalov  Norman Thagard 11 September 1995 Mir EO-19:  Anatoly Solovyev  Nikolai Budarin 181 days Soyuz TM-22 3 September 1995 Mir EO-20:  Yuri Gidzenko  Sergei Avdeyev Euromir 95:  Thomas Reiter 29 February 1996 Mir EO-20:  Yuri Gidzenko  Sergei Avdeyev Euromir 95:  Thomas Reiter 179 days Soyuz TM-23 21 February 1996 Mir EO-21:  Yuri Onufrienko  Yury Usachov 2 September 1996 Mir EO-21:  Yuri Onufrienko  Yury Usachov Other:  Claudie André-Deshays 193 days Soyuz TM-24 17 August 1996 Mir EO-22:  Valery Korzun  Aleksandr Kaleri Other:  Claudie André-Deshays 2 March 1997 Mir EO-22:  Valery Korzun  Aleksandr Kaleri Other:  Reinhold Ewald 196 days Soyuz TM-25 10 February 1997 Mir EO-23:  Vasili Tsibliyev  Aleksandr Lazutkin Other:  Reinhold Ewald 14 August 1997 Mir EO-23:  Vasili Tsibliyev  Aleksandr Lazutkin 184 days Soyuz TM-26 5 August 1997 Mir EO-24:  Anatoly Solovyev  Pavel Vinogradov 19 February 1998 Mir EO-24:  Anatoly Solovyev  Pavel Vinogradov Other:  Léopold Eyharts 197 days Soyuz TM-27 29 January 1998 Mir EO-25:  Talgat Musabayev  Nikolai Budarin Other:  Léopold Eyharts 25 August 1998 Mir EO-25:  Talgat Musabayev  Nikolai Budarin Other:  Yuri Baturin 207 days Soyuz TM-28 13 August 1998 Mir EO-26:  Gennady I. Padalka  Sergei Avdeyev Other:  Yuri Baturin 28 February 1999 Mir EO-26:  Gennady I. Padalka Other:  Ivan Bella 198 days Soyuz TM-29 20 February 1999 Mir EO-27:  Viktor Afanasyev  Jean-Pierre Haigneré Other:  Ivan Bella 28 August 1999 Mir EO-27:  Viktor Afanasyev  Jean-Pierre Haigneré Other:  Sergei Avdeyev 188 days Soyuz TM-30 4 April 2000 Mir EO-28:  Sergei Zalyotin  Aleksandr Kaleri 16 June 2000 Mir EO-28:  Sergei Zalyotin  Aleksandr Kaleri 72 days Last mission to Mir Soyuz TM-31 31 October 2000 Expedition 1:  Yuri Gidzenko  Sergei Krikalev  William Shepherd 6 May 2001 ISS EP-1:  Talgat Musabayev  Yuri Baturin  Dennis Tito 186 days First Soyuz to the International Space Station Soyuz TM-32 28 April 2001 ISS EP-1:  Talgat Musabayev  Yuri Baturin  Dennis Tito 31 October 2001 ISS EP-2:  Viktor M. Afanasyev  Claudie Haigneré  Konstantin Kozeyev 185 days Soyuz TM-33 21 October 2001 ISS EP-2:  Viktor M. Afanasyev  Claudie Haigneré  Konstantin Kozeyev 5 May 2002  Yuri Gidzenko  Roberto Vittori  Mark Shuttleworth 195 days Soyuz TM-34 25 April 2002  Yuri Gidzenko  Roberto Vittori  Mark Shuttleworth 10 November 2002  Sergei Zalyotin  Frank De Winne  Yury Lonchakov 198 days

Gallery

External links

RSC Energia: Concept Of Russian Manned Space Navigation Development Mir Hardware Heritage David S.F. Portree, Mir Hardware Heritage, NASA RP-1357, 1995 Mir Hardware Heritage (wikisource) Information on Soyuz spacecraft OMWorld's ASTP Docking Trainer Page NASA - Russian Soyuz TMA Spacecraft Details Space Adventures circum-lunar mission - details

References