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Levchenko

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21 December 1987 11:18 GMT. Landing Date: 1987-12-29 09:16:00. Flight Time: 7.92 days. Alternate Name: Soyuz TM-4 (Levchenko). Flight Up: Soyuz TM-4. Flight Back: Soyuz TM-3. Call Sign: Okean (Ocean ). Crew: Levchenko. Backup Crew: Shchukin. Program: Mir. Anatoly Levchenko was launched to Mir together with the Main Expedition EO-03 crew of Musa Manarov, and Vladimir Titov. Soyuz TM-4 maneuvered through orbits of 168 x 243 km, 255 x 296 km, and 333 x 359 before docking with Mir at 12:51 GMT 23 December. Levchenko returned aboard Soyuz TM-3 with A Aleksandrov (launched aboard Soyuz TM-3) and Yuri Romanenko (Soyuz TM-2). The spacecraft landed on December 29, 1987 09:16 GMT near Arkalyk.

Levchenko was a prospective Buran pilot sent on the short mission to familiarise himself with spaceflight. Immediately after his return he was put at the controls of an aircraft to check if the experience had impaired his flying skills in any way.

• 1987 Dec 21 - Soyuz TM-4  Crew: Levchenko, Manarov, Titov Vladimir. Spacecraft: Soyuz TM. Payload: Soyuz TM 11F732 s/n 54. Mass: 7,070 kg (15,580 lb). Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511U2. Duration: 178.95 days. Perigee: 337 km (209 mi). Apogee: 357 km (221 mi). Inclination: 51.60 deg. Period: 91.50 min.

  Mir Expedition EO-03. Carried Musa Manarov, Anatoly Levchenko, Vladimir Titov to Mir; returned crew of Soyuz TM-5 to Earth. Orbits 168 x 243 km, 255 x 296 km, 333 x 359 km. Docked with Mir 12:51 GMT 23 December. 30 December moved to forward port.

• 1987 Dec 29 - Landing of Soyuz TM-3 

  Soyuz TM-3 undocked from Mir at 05:55 GMT and landed near Arkalyk at 09:16 GMT with the crew of Aleksandrov, Levchenko (Soyuz TM-4) and Romanenko (Soyuz TM-2) aboard.

• USAF Satellite Database, USAF Institute of Technology, 1995. Accessed at: ftp://archive.afit.af.mil/pub/space/.

• Oberg, James, Red Star in Orbit, Random House, New York, 1981. ISBN: 0394514297. Oberg's book was, at its time, the most accurate, and still the most lively account of the Soviet manned program. More at amazon.com...

• JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Accessed at: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.

• McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.