Image: NASA / Crew of STS-79 (public domain)
Soyuz TM-24
Mission Profile
| Launch date | 1996-08-17 |
|---|---|
| Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 1/5 (Gagarin's Start) |
| Launch vehicle | Soyuz-U |
| Spacecraft | Soyuz TM-24 (Soyuz 7K-STM No. 73) |
| Target | Low Earth Orbit |
| Type | Crewed |
| End date | 1997-03-02 |
| Duration | 196 days 17 hours (vehicle, EO-22 crew); Cassiopée crew flew ~16 days |
| Partners | Roscosmos, CNES |
Overview
Soyuz TM-24 carried Claudie André-Deshays into orbit as the first French woman in space. Launched on 17 August 1996, the French scientist-cosmonaut flew with Mir EO-22 commander Valery Korzun and flight engineer Aleksandr Kaleri, both rookies who had replaced their prime crew just a week before launch after Gennadi Manakov fell ill. André-Deshays flew the CNES Cassiopée mission, spending roughly 16 days aboard Mir running a dense programme of biomedical and life-science experiments, including studies of the cardiovascular and neurosensory systems and developmental biology. A trained rheumatologist and neuroscientist, she returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-23 with the departing Yuri Onufriyenko and Yuri Usachev. The flight launched a singular career: she would later become the first European woman to visit the International Space Station and, afterward, a French government minister.
Crew
Claudie Haigneré
Cosmonaut Researcher (Cassiopée)
Then Claudie André-Deshays; first French woman in space; returned on Soyuz TM-23
Valery Korzun
Commander
Late replacement crew; first spaceflight
Aleksandr Kaleri
Flight Engineer
Late replacement crew
Key Milestones
1996-08-17
Launch from Baikonur at 13:18 UTC with Korzun, Kaleri and André-Deshays
1996-08-19
Docking with the Mir space station; Cassiopée experiments begin
1996-09-02
André-Deshays returns aboard Soyuz TM-23 with Onufriyenko and Usachev after ~16 days
1997-03-02
Soyuz TM-24 lands with the EO-22 crew, ending its station duty
Key Achievements
Claudie André-Deshays became the first French woman in space
Flew the CNES Cassiopée biomedical mission to Mir
First step toward becoming the first European woman to visit the ISS
