Soyuz TM-21
| Operator | Russian Space Agency |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 1995-010A |
| SATCAT no. | 23519 |
| Mission duration | 181 days, 41 minutes, 6 seconds |
| Orbits completed | ~2,940 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Soyuz 7K-STM No. 70 |
| Spacecraft type | Soyuz-TM |
| Manufacturer | Energia |
| Launch mass | 7,170 kg (15,810 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 3 up, 2 down |
| Launching | Vladimir Dezhurov Gennady Strekalov Norman Thagard |
| Landing | Anatoly Solovyev Nikolai Budarin |
| Callsign | Урага́н (lit. 'Hurricane') |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 14 March 1995, 06:11:34 UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-U2 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 11 September 1995, 06:52:40 UTC |
| Landing site | 50°40′N 68°15′E / 50.67°N 68.25°E |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee altitude | 200 km (120 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 249.6 km (155.1 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.65° |
| Period | 88.7 minutes |
| Docking with Mir | |
| Docking port | Kvant-1 |
| Docking date | 16 March 1995, 7:45:26 UTC |
| Undocking date | 11 September 1995, 3:30:44 UTC |
| Time docked | 178 days, 19 hours, 45 minutes, 18 seconds |
|
Launching crew, from left: Thagard, Dezhurov and Strekalov Soyuz programme (Crewed missions) | |
Soyuz TM-21 was a crewed Soyuz spaceflight to Mir. The mission launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, atop a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket, at 06:11:34 UTC on 14 March 1995. The flight marked the first time thirteen humans were flying in space simultaneously, with three aboard the Soyuz, three aboard Mir and seven aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, flying STS-67.
The spacecraft carried expedition EO-18 to the space station. This included the first American astronaut to launch on a Soyuz spacecraft and board Mir, Norman Thagard, for the American Thagard Increment aboard the station, which was the first Increment of the Shuttle-Mir program. The three crew members it launched were relieved by Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-71, when they were replaced by expedition EO-19. The crew returned to earth aboard Soyuz TM-21 on 11 September 1995.