Mir EO-12

Mission Profile

Overview

Mir's twelfth expedition opened the post-Soviet era of the station, flown by commander Anatoly Solovyev and rookie flight engineer Sergei Avdeyev, who launched on Soyuz TM-15 on 27 July 1992. Riding up with them was French CNES spationaut Michel Tognini on the Antarès mission, a milestone in Franco-Russian cooperation; Tognini ran two weeks of life-sciences and physics experiments before returning with the outgoing crew. For Avdeyev this was the first of three flights that would eventually make him the most experienced spacefarer of his time. Over more than six months he and Solovyev carried out four spacewalks, deploying a French-built rendezvous antenna and conducting materials, astronomy and medical research. They undocked Soyuz TM-15 on 1 February 1993 and landed near Dzhezkazgan after 188 days, the spacecraft setting an on-orbit endurance record.

Crew

Key Milestones

1. 1992-07-27

   Soyuz TM-15 launches Solovyev, Avdeyev, and French spationaut Michel Tognini

2. 1992-07-29

   Docking with Mir; Tognini begins the CNES Antarès research programme

3. 1992-09

   First of four EVAs; crew installs hardware including a French rendezvous antenna

4. 1993-02-01

   Solovyev and Avdeyev land after 188 days, a Soyuz on-orbit endurance record

Key Achievements

• First of Sergei Avdeyev's three career flights to Mir

• Carried French spationaut Michel Tognini on the CNES Antarès mission

• Four EVAs and a Soyuz spacecraft on-orbit endurance record

Related Missions

Sources

1. Wikipedia — Mir EO-12
2. Wikipedia — Soyuz TM-15