Image: NASA (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
Mir EO-2
Mission Profile
| Launch date | 1987-02-05 |
|---|---|
| Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 1/5 (Gagarin's Start) |
| Launch vehicle | Soyuz-U2 |
| Spacecraft | Soyuz TM-2 (launch) / Soyuz TM-3 (return) |
| Target | Low Earth Orbit |
| Type | Crewed |
| End date | 1987-12-29 |
| Duration | 326 days 11 hours (Romanenko) |
Overview
Yuri Romanenko returned to space as commander of Mir's second long-duration expedition, launching on Soyuz TM-2 on 5 February 1987 with flight engineer Aleksandr Laveykin. Their central task was to grow the young station: in spring 1987 the Kvant-1 astrophysics module arrived but jammed short of docking on debris snagged in the port. Romanenko and Laveykin saved it with an unplanned spacewalk, clearing the obstruction by hand. Laveykin developed a minor heart irregularity and came home early in July, replaced by Aleksandr Aleksandrov, who flew up with a visiting crew on Soyuz TM-3. Romanenko pressed on alone toward a milestone, accumulating 326 days in orbit, a new world record, before returning on Soyuz TM-3 on 29 December 1987. His endurance data directly informed the medical protocols for the year-long flights that followed.
Crew
Yuri Romanenko
Commander
Set a 326-day world endurance record; third spaceflight
Aleksandr Laveykin
Flight Engineer (Feb–Jul 1987)
Returned early after a minor cardiac irregularity
Aleksandr Aleksandrov
Flight Engineer (Jul–Dec 1987)
Arrived on Soyuz TM-3 to complete the expedition
Key Milestones
1987-02-05
Soyuz TM-2 launches Romanenko and Laveykin to Mir
1987-04-11
Romanenko and Laveykin EVA clears debris jamming the Kvant-1 module, completing its docking
1987-07-30
Laveykin returns early for medical reasons; Aleksandr Aleksandrov joins as flight engineer
1987-12-29
Romanenko lands aboard Soyuz TM-3 after a record 326 days in space
Key Achievements
Romanenko set a 326-day world spaceflight endurance record
Rescued the Kvant-1 module with an improvised debris-clearing EVA
First in-orbit crew handover via a replacement flight engineer on Mir
