Soyuz TM-23

Soyuz TM-23
OperatorRosaviakosmos
COSPAR ID1996-011A
SATCAT no.23798
Mission duration193 days, 19 hours, 7 minutes, 35 seconds
Orbits completed~3,155
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSoyuz TM-23 (7K-STM No. 72)
Spacecraft typeSoyuz-TM
ManufacturerRKK Energia
Launch mass7,150 kilograms (15,760 lb)
Crew
Crew size2 up
3 down
MembersYuri Onufrienko
Yury Usachov
LandingClaudie André-Deshays
CallsignСкиф (Skiph - Scythian)
Start of mission
Launch dateFebruary 21, 1996, 12:34:05 (1996-02-21UTC12:34:05Z) UTC
RocketSoyuz-U
Launch siteBaikonur Launch Pad 1
End of mission
Landing dateSeptember 2, 1996, 07:41:40 (1996-09-02UTC07:41:41Z) UTC
Landing site50°17′N 70°50′E / 50.28°N 70.83°E / 50.28; 70.83
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude202 kilometres (126 mi)
Apogee altitude240 kilometres (150 mi)
Inclination51.6 degrees
Docking with Mir
Docking date23 February 1996, 14:20:35 UTC
Undocking date2 September 1996, 4:20:00 UTC
Time docked191.5 days
Soyuz programme
(Crewed missions)

Soyuz TM-23 was a Soyuz spaceflight which launched on February 21, 1996, to Mir. The spacecraft launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, and after two days of flight, Yuri Onufrienko and Yury Usachov docked with Mir and became the 21st resident crew of the Station. On September 2, 1996, after 191 days docked with Mir, the ship undocked with the launch crew and Claudie André-Deshays onboard, before eventually landing 107 km (66 mi) south west of Akmola, Kazakhstan.