Image: NASA (public domain)
Soyuz TM-7
Mission Profile
| Launch date | 1988-11-26 |
|---|---|
| Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 1/5 (Gagarin's Start) |
| Launch vehicle | Soyuz-U2 |
| Spacecraft | Soyuz TM-7 (Soyuz 7K-STM No. 57) |
| Target | Low Earth Orbit |
| Type | Crewed |
| End date | 1989-04-27 |
| Duration | 151 days 11 hours (vehicle, EO-4 crew); Aragatz crew flew ~24 days |
| Partners | Soviet Space Program, CNES |
Overview
Soyuz TM-7 brought Jean-Loup Chrétien back to space, this time to make history again. Launched on 26 November 1988 with Mir EO-4 commander Alexander Volkov and rookie flight engineer Sergei Krikalev, Chrétien flew the 24-day French Aragatz mission to the Mir station. On 9 December 1988 he stepped outside with Volkov for a six-hour spacewalk, becoming the first person from a country other than the United States or Soviet Union to perform an EVA. The pair deployed the experimental ERA collapsible structure and the Echantillons materials package. Chrétien returned aboard the older Soyuz TM-6 with Vladimir Titov and Musa Manarov, who were completing a record-breaking yearlong flight, while Volkov, Krikalev and physician Valeri Polyakov stayed on Mir. Krikalev's first flight here launched a career that would make him one of the most experienced humans ever to fly.
Crew
Jean-Loup Chrétien
Cosmonaut Researcher (Aragatz)
First non-US/non-Soviet astronaut to perform an EVA; returned on Soyuz TM-6
Vladimir Titov
Mir EO-4 Commander (landing on TM-7)
Completing a record ~366-day yearlong flight; landed on TM-7
Musa Manarov
Flight Engineer (landing on TM-7)
Completing the record yearlong flight; landed on TM-7
Sergei Avdeyev
—
Not on this crew
Key Milestones
1988-11-26
Launch from Baikonur at 15:50 UTC with Volkov, Krikalev and Chrétien
1988-11-28
Docking with the Mir space station
1988-12-09
Chrétien and Volkov conduct a ~6-hour EVA; first non-US/non-Soviet spacewalker
1988-12-21
Aragatz crew (Chrétien) returns on Soyuz TM-6 with Titov and Manarov
1989-04-27
Soyuz TM-7 lands with Volkov, Krikalev and Polyakov, ending the EO-4 expedition
Key Achievements
Jean-Loup Chrétien became the first non-US, non-Soviet person to walk in space
Flew the 24-day French Aragatz mission to Mir
Launched Sergei Krikalev's first spaceflight
