Soyuz TM-3

Mission Profile

Overview

Soyuz TM-3 carried the first Syrian into space, Air Force pilot Muhammed Faris, on a week-long Interkosmos visiting mission to the Mir station. Launching on 22 July 1987 alongside commander Aleksandr Viktorenko and flight engineer Aleksandr Aleksandrov, Faris brought Syrian soil and a vial of Damascus rose water aboard, photographed his homeland, and ran the 'Euphrates' programme of Earth-observation, materials and medical experiments with resident crew Yuri Romanenko and Aleksandr Laveykin. The flight doubled as a vital crew swap: Aleksandrov stayed behind to replace Laveykin, who had developed a heart irregularity. Faris, Viktorenko and Laveykin returned aboard the older Soyuz TM-2 on 30 July 1987 after roughly eight days aloft, leaving the fresh TM-3 ferry docked to Mir as the station's lifeboat until December.

Crew

Key Milestones

1. 1987-07-22

   Launch from Baikonur with Viktorenko, Aleksandrov and Syria's Muhammed Faris

2. 1987-07-24

   Docking with the Mir space station

3. 1987-07-30

   Faris, Viktorenko and Laveykin land aboard Soyuz TM-2; Aleksandrov remains as EO-2 crew

4. 1987-12-29

   Soyuz TM-3 ferry undocks and returns the EO-2 crew to Earth near Arkalyk

Key Achievements

• First Syrian citizen in space

• Second Arab in space, and first Arab to visit the Mir station

• Enabled the EO-2 crew swap, with Aleksandrov replacing Laveykin

Related Missions

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Soyuz TM-3
2. Space.com: Cosmonaut Muhammed Faris, first Syrian in space, dies at 72