Mir EP-3
Encyclopedia
Mir EP-3 was a week-long manned spaceflight
to the Soviet space station
Mir
, during the long-duration expedition Mir EO-3
. It was the sixth manned spaceflight to Mir, and was launched with the spacecraft Soyuz TM-6
. This spacecraft also carried Valeri Polyakov, who would stay aboard Mir after the crew of EP-3 returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-5
. The crew of EP-3, also known as the Soyuz TM-6 crew, consisted of Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Lyakhov
as commander, and the first Afghan
to visit space, Abdul Ahad Mohmand
.
was coming to a close, with the final troop withdrawal starting in May 1988. It was decided by the Glavcosmos
chairman that the Afghan's spaceflight would be moved earlier than originally planned, so that it would occur before the Soviet military completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Lyakhov had been on two spaceflight before, both of which were long-duration missions. The first was launched and landed with the spacecraft Soyuz 32
, and lasted for 175 days; it was the third long-duration expedition on the space station Salyut 6
, called Salyut 6 EO-3. His second spaceflight was launched and landed with the spacecraft Soyuz T-9
, and lasted for 145 days; it was the second long-duration expedition aboard the space station Salyut 7
, which was called Salyut 7 EO-2.
. Even though the TM-5 spacecraft had only been launched a few months earlier, for Mir EP-2, it was thought to be better to leave the resident crew with the most recent Soyuz spacecraft.
During descent they suffered a computer software problem combined with a sensor problem. The deorbit engine on the TM-5 spacecraft which was to propel them into atmospheric reentry
, did not behave as expected. During an attempted burn, the computer shut off the engines prematurely, believing the spacecraft was out of alignment. Lyakhov determined that they were not, in fact, out of alignment, and asserted that the problem was caused by conflicting signals picked up by the alignment sensors caused by solar glare. With the problem apparently solved, two orbits later he restarted to deorbit engines. But the engines shut off again. The flight director decided that they would have to remain in orbit an extra day (a full revolution of the Earth), so they could determine what the problem was. During this time it was realised that during the second attempted engine burn, the computer had tried to execute the program which was used to dock with Mir several months earlier during EP-2. After reprogramming the computer, the next attempt was successful, and the crew safely landed on 7 September.
Spaceflight
Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...
to the Soviet space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
, during the long-duration expedition Mir EO-3
Mir EO-3
Mir EO-3 was an expedition to the space station Mir. The crew consisted of 3 people, Musa Manarov , Vladimir Titov and Valeri Polyakov . Manarov and Titov arrived at the station in December 1987 on Soyuz TM-4, while Polyakov arrived much later, in August 1988 on Soyuz TM-6...
. It was the sixth manned spaceflight to Mir, and was launched with the spacecraft Soyuz TM-6
Soyuz TM-6
Dr. Valeri Polyakov remained behind on Mir with cosmonauts Musa Manarov and Vladimir Titov when Mohmand and Lyakhov returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-5....
. This spacecraft also carried Valeri Polyakov, who would stay aboard Mir after the crew of EP-3 returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-5
Soyuz TM-5
-Launch:Soyuz TM-5 launched on 1988 June 7 and arrived at Mir on June 9 carrying the second Bulgarian in space, Alexandrov . He became the first Bulgarian to reach a Soviet space station...
. The crew of EP-3, also known as the Soyuz TM-6 crew, consisted of Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Lyakhov
Vladimir Lyakhov
Vladimir Afanasyevich Lyakhov , Ukrainian SSR), Soviet Union on July 20, 1941) is a former Soviet cosmonaut, twice named a Hero of the Soviet Union....
as commander, and the first Afghan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
to visit space, Abdul Ahad Mohmand
Abdul Ahad Mohmand
Abdul Ahad Momand is a former Afghan Air Force aviator who became the first Afghan in space when he spent nine days aboard the Mir space station in 1988 as a Intercosmos Research Cosmonaut...
.
Background
The nine-year Soviet war in AfghanistanSoviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
was coming to a close, with the final troop withdrawal starting in May 1988. It was decided by the Glavcosmos
Glavcosmos
Glavcosmos was established in 1985 under the Ministry of General Machine-Building as the Soviet Union's contract agency for space affairs by the government of Mikhail Gorbachev appointing Alexander Dunayev as its first director...
chairman that the Afghan's spaceflight would be moved earlier than originally planned, so that it would occur before the Soviet military completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Crew
| Position | Name | Spaceflight | Launch | Landing | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commander |  Vladimir LyakhovVladimir Lyakhov Vladimir Afanasyevich Lyakhov , Ukrainian SSR), Soviet Union on July 20, 1941) is a former Soviet cosmonaut, twice named a Hero of the Soviet Union.... |
Third | 29 August 1988 Soyuz TM-6 Soyuz TM-6 Dr. Valeri Polyakov remained behind on Mir with cosmonauts Musa Manarov and Vladimir Titov when Mohmand and Lyakhov returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-5.... |
7 September 1988 Soyuz TM-5 Soyuz TM-5 -Launch:Soyuz TM-5 launched on 1988 June 7 and arrived at Mir on June 9 carrying the second Bulgarian in space, Alexandrov . He became the first Bulgarian to reach a Soviet space station... |
8.8 days | |
| Flight Engineer |  Abdul Ahad MohmandAbdul Ahad Mohmand Abdul Ahad Momand is a former Afghan Air Force aviator who became the first Afghan in space when he spent nine days aboard the Mir space station in 1988 as a Intercosmos Research Cosmonaut... |
First | First Afghan Afghanistan Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world... cosmonaut |
Lyakhov had been on two spaceflight before, both of which were long-duration missions. The first was launched and landed with the spacecraft Soyuz 32
Soyuz 32
-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 51.61°*Period: 89.94 minutes-Launch and station activation:...
, and lasted for 175 days; it was the third long-duration expedition on the space station Salyut 6
Salyut 6
Salyut 6 , DOS-5, was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth flown as part of the Salyut programme. Launched on 29 September 1977 by a Proton rocket, the station was the first of the 'second-generation' type of space station. Salyut 6 possessed several revolutionary advances over the earlier...
, called Salyut 6 EO-3. His second spaceflight was launched and landed with the spacecraft Soyuz T-9
Soyuz T-9
-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: 6850 kg*Perigee: 201 km*Apogee: 229 km*Inclination: 51.6°*Period: 88.6 minutes-Mission highlights:4th expedition to Salyut 7...
, and lasted for 145 days; it was the second long-duration expedition aboard the space station Salyut 7
Salyut 7
Salyut 7 was a space station in low Earth orbit from April 1982 to February 1991. It was first manned in May 1982 with two crew via Soyuz T-5, and last visited in June 1986, by Soyuz T-15. Various crew and modules were used over its lifetime, including a total of 12 manned and 15 unmanned launches...
, which was called Salyut 7 EO-2.
Mission highlights
Mohmand's main objective was to photograph and make observations of Afghanistan from space. These photographs would be used to map the country's inaccessible mountainous regions, assess water and glacial run-off, as well as to find possible sources of oil and gas in lowland regions.Problems during descent
Lhakhov and Mohmand depart Mir on 6 September in Soyuz TM-5Soyuz TM-5
-Launch:Soyuz TM-5 launched on 1988 June 7 and arrived at Mir on June 9 carrying the second Bulgarian in space, Alexandrov . He became the first Bulgarian to reach a Soviet space station...
. Even though the TM-5 spacecraft had only been launched a few months earlier, for Mir EP-2, it was thought to be better to leave the resident crew with the most recent Soyuz spacecraft.
During descent they suffered a computer software problem combined with a sensor problem. The deorbit engine on the TM-5 spacecraft which was to propel them into atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
, did not behave as expected. During an attempted burn, the computer shut off the engines prematurely, believing the spacecraft was out of alignment. Lyakhov determined that they were not, in fact, out of alignment, and asserted that the problem was caused by conflicting signals picked up by the alignment sensors caused by solar glare. With the problem apparently solved, two orbits later he restarted to deorbit engines. But the engines shut off again. The flight director decided that they would have to remain in orbit an extra day (a full revolution of the Earth), so they could determine what the problem was. During this time it was realised that during the second attempted engine burn, the computer had tried to execute the program which was used to dock with Mir several months earlier during EP-2. After reprogramming the computer, the next attempt was successful, and the crew safely landed on 7 September.