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Launch SuccessfulRussian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS)

Soyuz-U2: Soyuz TM-18

Soyuz TM-18 was the 18th mission and the 15th long-duration expedition to Mir space station. The mission began on January 8, 1994, 10:05:34 UTC, launching Commander Viktor Afanasyev, Flight Engineer Yury Usachov and Research Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov into orbit. They docked with Mir two days later. During their stay there, cosmonauts carried out various scientific experiments in medicine, material sciences, astrophysics etc. Station crew was visited by several Progress resupply spacecrafts, and welcomed aboard the Soyuz TM-19 crew. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on July 9, 1994, 10:32:35 UTC.

Saturday, 8 January 1994
Soyuz-U2: Soyuz TM-18

Mission Data

Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS)
🇷🇺Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS)Est. 1992
Launch VehicleSoyuz-U2
Vehicle Record71 of 71 launches (100%)
Provider TypeGovernment
Agency Record333 successes / 11 failures (97%)
Success Streak68 consecutive
ProgramSoyuz · Human Spaceflight
Mission TypeHuman Exploration
Target OrbitLow Earth Orbit
Launch Pad1/5
Location🇰🇿 Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan KAZ
Orbital Launches This Year#1
Agency Launches This Year#1
Launches From This Pad487
Launches From This Site1,565
Status Note

The launch vehicle successfully inserted its payload(s) into the target orbit(s).

About Soyuz-U2

The Soyuz-U2 was a Soviet, later Russian, carrier rocket. It was derived from the Soyuz-U, and a member of the R-7 family of rockets. It featured increased performance compared with the baseline Soyuz-U, due to the use of syntin propellant, as opposed to RP-1 paraffin, used on the Soyuz-U.

Launch Site

1/5 · 45.9200°N 63.3420°E

Launch data from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs.