Soyuz TM-4

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Soyuz TM-4
sign = Okean (Ocean)
crew_members = 3
launch = December 21, 1987
11:18:03 UTC
Gagarin's Start
landing = June 17, 1988
10:12:32 UTC
180 km SE of Dzhezkazgan
duration = 178 days, 22 h, 54 min, 29 s
orbits = ~2,890
next = Soyuz TM-5
previous = Soyuz TM-3 |

Soyuz TM-4 was the fourth manned mission to the space station Mir. It was part of the Soyuz programme.

Crew

Launched:
*Vladimir Titov (3)
*Musa Manarov (1)
*Anatoli Levchenko (1)

Landed:
*Anatoly Solovyev (1)
*Viktor Savinykh (3)
*Aleksandr Panayatov Aleksandrov (1) - Bulgaria

Mission parameters

*Mass: 7070 kg
*Perigee: 337 km
*Apogee: 357 km
*Inclination: 51.6°
*Period: 91.5 minutes

Mission highlights

4th expedition to Mir. Manarov and Titov replaced Romanenko and Alexandrov. Anatoli Levchenko was a cosmonaut in the Buran shuttle program. Levchenko returned with Romanenko and Alexandrov in Soyuz-TM 3.

Before departing Mir, Romanenko and Alexandrov demonstrated use of EVA equipment to the Okeans. The Okeans delivered biological experiments, including the Aynur biological crystal growth apparatus, which they installed in Kvant-1. The combined crews conducted an evacuation drill, with the Mir computer simulating an emergency.

Titov and Manarov conducted part of an ongoing survey of galaxies and star groups in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum using the Glazar telescope on Kvant. The survey required photography with exposure times up to 8 min. Even small cosmonaut movements could shake the complex. This produced blurring of astronomical images, so all cosmonaut movements had to be stopped during the exposures.