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Mir EO-1

Soyuz T-15
Soyuz-T drawing.png
Soyuz-T spacecraft
COSPAR ID 1986-022A
Mission duration 125 days, 56 seconds
Orbits completed 1,980
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type Soyuz-T
Manufacturer NPO Energia
Launch mass 6,850 kilograms (15,100 lb)
Crew
Crew size 2
Members Leonid Kizim
Vladimir Solovyov
Callsign Mayak (Beacon)
Start of mission
Launch date 13 March 1986, 12:33:09 (1986-03-13UTC12:33:09Z) UTC
Rocket Soyuz-U2
Launch site Baikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing date 16 July 1986, 12:34:05 (1986-07-16UTC12:34:06Z) UTC
Landing site 55 kilometres (34 mi) NE of Arkalyk
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Perigee 331 kilometres (206 mi)
Apogee 366 kilometres (227 mi)
Inclination 51.6 degrees
Period 91.5 minutes
Docking with Mir
Docking port Core forward
Docking date 15 March 1986, 13:38:42 UTC
Undocking date 5 May 1986, 12:12:09 UTC
Docking with Salyut 7
Docking port Aft
Docking date 6 May 1986, 16:57:52 UTC
Undocking date 25 June 1986, 14:58:00 UTC
Docking with Mir
Docking port Core forward
Docking date 26 June 1986, 19:46:07 UTC
Undocking date 16 July 1986, 09:09:50 UTC
Soyuz programme
(Manned missions)

Soyuz T-15 (Russian: Союз T-15, Union T-15) was a manned mission to the Mir and Salyut 7 space stations and was part of the Soyuz programme. It marked the final flight of the Soyuz-T spacecraft, the third generation Soyuz spacecraft, which had been in service for seven years from 1979 to 1986. This mission marked the first time that a spacecraft visited, and docked with, two space stations in the same mission.

Soyuz T-15 was both the first expedition to Mir and the last to Salyut 7.

Due to the pressure of launching Mir in time for the 27th Communist Party Congress, mission planners were left without the newer Soyuz-TM spacecraft or any of the planned modules to launch to the station at first. It was decided to launch an older Soyuz-T as Soyuz T-15 on a dual mission to both Mir and Salyut 7.

Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov first docked with the Mir space station on 15 March 1986 after their launch on 13 March. Plans for Mir intended that only the newer Soyuz-TM would dock with Mir's forward port, leaving the aft port free for arriving Progress spacecraft. However, the older Soyuz-T was not equipped with the Kurs approach system used on Mir's front port, but only with the older Igla approach system used for Mir's aft port. Therefore, Soyuz T-15 had to approach Mir's aft port, and then manually maneuver around the station to dock manually at the forward port. At 20 km Soyuz T-15's Igla system acquired its counterpart on Mir's aft port. At 200 meters, the Igla system was shut off, and the crew manually maneuvered around the station to dock at the front port. For this manual approach, the same laser range finder was used as for the Soyuz T-13 docking with the uncooperative Salyut 7 station in 1985.


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