13 August 1998 09:43 GMT. Landing Date: 1999-02-28 02:14:00. Flight Time: 198.69 days. Alternate Name: Soyuz TM-28 (Padalka). Flight Up: Soyuz TM-28. Flight Back: Soyuz TM-28. Call Sign: Altair. Crew: Padalka. Backup Crew: Zalyotin. Program: Mir. Soyuz TM-28 docked at 10:56 GMT on August 15 with the rear (Kvant) port of the Mir space station, which had been vacated at 09:28 GMT on August 12 by Progress M-39. The EO-25 crew, Musabayev and Budarin, landed with Baturin on Aug 25, leaving the EO-26 crew of Padalka and Avdeyev on the station. As only one final Soyuz mission to Mir was planned, with two of the seats on that Soyuz pre-sold to Slovak and French experimenters, the return crew of Soyuz TM-28 was subject to constant replanning and revision. On February 8, 1999, at 11:23 GMT Padalka and Avdeyev undocked from Mir's -X port in Soyuz TM-28, and redocked at the +X Kvant port at 11:39 GMT, freeing up the front port for the Soyuz TM-29 docking. Finally on February 27, 1999 EO-26 commander Padalka and Slovak cosmonaut Bella undocked Soyuz TM-28 from the Kvant rear docking port at 22:52 GMT, landing in Kazakhstan on February 28 at 02:14 GMT. Avdeyev remained on Mir with the EO-27 crew delivered on Soyuz TM-29, heading for a manned space flight time record.
Mir EO-26 Chronology
- 1998 Aug 13 - Soyuz TM-28 Crew: Padalka, Avdeyev, Baturin. Spacecraft: Soyuz TM. Payload: Soyuz TM 11F732 s/n 77. Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. Duration: 198.69 days. Perigee: 363 km (225 mi). Apogee: 373 km (231 mi). Inclination: 51.70 deg. Period: 91.90 min.
Soyuz TM-28 docked at 10:56 GMT on August 15 with the rear (Kvant) port of the Mir space station, which had been vacated at 09:28 GMT on August 12 by Progress M-39. The EO-25 crew, Musabayev and Budarin, landed with Baturin on Aug 25, leaving the EO-26 crew of Padalka and Avdeyev on the station. As only one final Soyuz mission to Mir was planned, with two of the seats on that Soyuz pre-sold to Slovak and French experimenters, the return crew of Soyuz TM-28 was subject to constant replanning and revision. On February 8, 1999, at 11:23 GMT Padalka and Avdeyev undocked from Mir's -X port in Soyuz TM-28, and redocked at the +X Kvant port at 11:39 GMT, freeing up the front port for the Soyuz TM-29 docking. Finally on February 27, 1999 EO-26 commander Padalka and Slovak cosmonaut Bella undocked Soyuz TM-28 from the Kvant rear docking port at 22:52 GMT, landing in Kazakhstan on February 28 at 02:14 GMT. Avdeyev remained on Mir with the EO-27 crew delivered on Soyuz TM-29, heading for a manned space flight time record.
- 1998 Oct 25 - Progress M-40 Spacecraft: Progress M. Payload: Progress M s/n 239. Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. Duration: 103.25 days. Perigee: 349 km (216 mi). Apogee: 360 km (220 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 91.63 min.
Docked with the rear (+X, Kvant) docking port of the Mir station on October 27. Delivered fuel, dry cargo, and the Znamya-2.5 solar illumination experiment. This was a follow-on to the earlier Znamya-2 experiment on Progress M-15 in 1992. The 25 m diameter Znamya reflector, which would unfold from the nose of the Progress, was to reflect sunlight over a 6 km area onto selected cities. Znamya-2.5 was developed by the Space Regatta Consortium, led by RKK Energia. Energia had long studied such space mirrors as a means of providing lighting to Siberian towns. The project was opposed by environmentalists and astronomers, who feared light pollution.
Progress M-40 undocked on February 4, 1999 at 09:59 GMT, but the attempted deployment of the Znamya-2.5 reflector was thwarted when it snagged on a rendezvous system antenna. After two more failed attempts to deploy the antenna the experiment was abandoned. Progress M-40 fired its engines at 10:16 GMT on February 5, braked out of orbit, and burned up over the Pacific Ocean.
- 1999 Feb 20 - Soyuz TM-29 Crew: Afanasyev, Haignere, Bella. Spacecraft: Soyuz TM. Payload: Soyuz TM 11F732 s/n 78. Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U. Duration: 188.85 days. Perigee: 341 km (211 mi). Apogee: 357 km (221 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 91.52 min.
Soyuz TM-29 docked with Mir on February 22 at 05:36 GMT. Since two crew seats had been sold (to Slovakia and France), Afansyev was the only Russian cosmonaut aboard. This meant that Russian engineer Avdeyev already aboard Mir would have to accept a double-length assignment. After the February 27 departure of EO-26 crew commander Padalka and Slovak cosmonaut Bella aboard Soyuz TM-28, the new EO-27 Mir crew consisted of Afanasyev as Commander, Avdeyev as Engineer and French cosmonaut Haignere. Follwoing an extended mission and three space walks, the last operational crew aboard Mir prepared to return. The station was powered down and prepared for free drift mode.
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