Soyuz TM-26

Soyuz TM-26 was a Russian spaceflight that ferried cosmonauts and supplies to Mir.[1] It was the 32nd expedition to Mir. It was launched by a Soyuz-U rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome on August 5, 1997. The main mission was to transport two specially-trained cosmonauts to repair or salvage the troubled space station.

Soyuz TM-26

Operator	Rosaviakosmos
COSPAR ID	1997-038A
SATCAT no.	24886
Mission duration	197 days, 17 hours, 34 minutes, 36 seconds
Orbits completed	~3,220
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Soyuz-TM
Manufacturer	RKK Energia
Launch mass	7,150 kilograms (15,760 lb)
Crew
Crew size	2 up 3 down
Members	Anatoly Solovyev Pavel Vinogradov
Landing	Léopold Eyharts
Callsign	Родни́к (Rodnik - Spring)
Start of mission
Launch date	August 5, 1997, 15:35:54 (1997-08-05UTC15:35:54Z) UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-U
End of mission
Landing date	February 19, 1998, 09:10:30 (1998-02-19UTC09:10:31Z) UTC
Landing site	50.18°N 67.50°E / 50.18; 67.50
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	193 kilometres (120 mi)
Apogee altitude	249 kilometres (155 mi)
Inclination	51.6 degrees
Docking with Mir
Soyuz programme (Crewed missions)

Damaged solar array of the Spektr module after Progress M-34 freighter colliding with the Mir space station on June 25, 1997

TM-26 docked with Mir on August 7 by manual control. The crew repaired the power cable and harness/connectors in the severely damaged Spektr module and restored much of the lost power; they also repaired and replaced the oxygen generators in Mir. The hole(s) in that module that caused total depressurization of the module could not be located during their spacewalk inside that module.

During the flight a television advertisement starring Vasily Tsibliyev was filmed on the station. The ad, for Tnuva's brand of UHT milk, was the first ad to be filmed in space.[2]