Soyuz TM-5

Crew:
    Upload:
        Anatoliy Solovyov [1], Commander
        Viktor Savinykh [3], Flight Engineer
        Aleksandr Aleksandrov [1], Research Cosmonaut (Bulgaria)
    Download:
        Vladimir Lyakhov (Soyuz TM-6)
        Abdul Mohmand (Soyuz TM-6)

Backup Crew:
    Vladimir Lyakhov
    Aleksandr Serebrov
    Krasimir Stoyanov (Bulgaria)

Launch:
    Location: Baikonur, Site 1/5
    Date: 7 June 1988
    Time: 14:03:13 UTC

Landing:
    Date: 7 September 1988
    Time: 00:49:38 UTC
    Location: 47° 20' N, 69° 40' E

Docking:
    Kvant, 9 June 1988 15:27 UTC - 18 June 1988 10:11 UTC
    fore unit of Mir, 18 June 1988 10:27 UTC - 5 September 1988 22:55 UTC

Duration: 91 days, 10 hours, 46 minutes, 25 seconds

Upload Call Sign: Rodnik (Spring - water spring)
Download Call Sign: Proton

This mission to Mir had no official Mir mission designation. On 6 September the habitation module was jettisoned in preparation for the de-orbiting maneuver. This was a fuel saving procedure. Approximately 30 seconds before the braking burn, the capsule orientation system failed. This delayed the braking burn by 7 minutes. Lyakhov immediately aborted it as he had no idea where the Soyuz would have landed. One orbit later, a second reentry attempt was made. The systems were "confused" by the previous abort and shut the engines down too soon and prepared to jettison the propulsion module. Lyakhov once again intervened and aborted the count down. Had he not done so, the crew would have been stranded and perished. A third attempt was made 24 hours later and succeeded. After this mishap, the Soviets jettisoned the habitation module only after a successful re-entry burn.

What proved to be a blessing in this near disaster was the fact that Lyakhov had been trained to pilot a Soyuz alone in the event a rescue ship needed to be sent for stranded cosmonauts.

Crew

Page last modified: 20 June 2022 16:59:02.