Soyuz TM-2

This article is about the spacecraft. For the expedition which it launched, see Mir EO-2.

Not to be confused with Soyuz 2, Soyuz T-2, Soyuz TMA-2, Soyuz TMA-02M, or Soyuz MS-02.

Soyuz TM-2

COSPAR ID	1987-013A
SATCAT no.	17482
Mission duration	174 days, 3 hours, 25 minutes, 56 seconds
Orbits completed	~2,810
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Soyuz 7K-STM No. 52
Spacecraft type	Soyuz-TM
Manufacturer	NPO Energia
Launch mass	7,100 kilograms (15,700 lb)
Crew
Crew size	2 up 3 down
Members	Aleksandr Laveykin
Launching	Yuri Romanenko
Landing	Aleksandr Viktorenko Muhammed Faris
Callsign	Taimyr
Start of mission
Launch date	5 February 1987, 21:38:16 (1987-02-05UTC21:38:16Z) UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-U2
Launch site	Baikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing date	30 July 1987, 01:04:12 (1987-07-30UTC01:04:13Z) UTC
Landing site	80 kilometres (50 mi) from Arkalyk
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	341 kilometres (212 mi)
Apogee altitude	365 kilometres (227 mi)
Inclination	51.6 degrees
Period	91.6 minutes
Docking with Mir
Docking date	7 February 1987, 23:27:40 UTC
Undocking date	29 July 1987, 20:44:00 UTC
Soyuz programme (Crewed missions)

Soyuz TM-2 was a crewed spaceflight to the Soviet space station Mir, which was uncrewed at the time. TM-2 was launched on February 5, 1987, and it was first crewed spaceflight of the Soyuz-TM spacecraft, and the second crewed spaceflight to Mir (the first being Soyuz T-15). The crew of the long duration expedition, Mir EO-2, who were launched by TM-2 consisted of Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Aleksandr Laveykin.

The spacecraft remained docked to Mir, functioning as a lifeboat for the EO-2 crew, until July 1987 when it returned to Earth carrying Laveykin and the two man crew of Mir EP-1. Romanenko later returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-3 at the end of EO-2.

Crew

Position	Launching crew	Landing crew
Commander	Yuri Romanenko Mir EO-2 Third and last spaceflight	Aleksandr Viktorenko Mir EP-1 First spaceflight
Flight Engineer	Aleksandr Laveykin Mir EO-2 Only spaceflight
Research Cosmonaut	None	Muhammed Faris Mir EP-1 Only spaceflight

Mission parameters

• Mass: 7100 kg
• Perigee: 341 km
• Apogee: 365 km
• Inclination: 51.6°
• Period: 91.6 minutes

Mission highlights

Main article: Mir EO-2

Early in the expedition EO-2, the module Kvant-1 was launched to automatically dock with Mir. The docking system, known as the "Igla system", was not behaving as expected. On April 5 the EO-2 crew retreated to the Soyuz TM-2 spacecraft so that they could escape in the event the module got out of control. About 200 m out, the docking system lost its lock on Mir's aft port antenna. The cosmonauts watched from within Soyuz TM-2 as the Kvant/ FSM combination passed within 10 m of the station. Following an emergency spacewalk, Kvant fully docked to the station on April 11.