Soyuz T-15
Soyuz-T spacecraft
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| 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 UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-U2 |
| Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 16 July 1986, 12:34:05 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 |
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Soyuz programme
(Manned missions) |
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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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