AKA: Mir EP-2;Rodnik (Spring - water spring).Launched: 1988-06-07.Returned: 1988-06-17.Number crew: 3 .Duration: 9.84 days.
Transported to the Mir orbital station a Soviet/Bulgarian crew comprising cosmonauts A Y Solovyev, V P Savinykh and A P Aleksandrov (Bulgaria) to conduct joint research and experiments with cosmonauts V G Titov and M K Manarov. Interim orbit 343 x 282 km. Maneuvered to Mir's 355 x 349 km orbit. Docked 15:57 GMT 9 June to Mir's aft port. Undocked 06:18 GMT 17 June 88. Recovered June 17, 1988 10:13 GMT. Landed 202 km from Dzhezkazgan.
Narrative (adapted from D S F Portree'sMir Hardware Heritage, NASA RP-1357, 1995)
Due to the Soyuz 33 failure, Bulgaria was the only east European Soviet ally not to have had a citizen visit a Soviet space station. Bulgarian cosmonaut-researcher Alexandr Alexandrov, (endlessly confused with the contemporary Soviet cosmonaut of the same name), used nearly 2,000 kg of equipment delivered by Progress freighters to conduct 46 experiments in the Shipka program during his stay. The visiting crew left aboard Soyuz TM-4, leaving the fresh Soyuz TM-5 as a lifeboat.
![]() | Mir EP-2 Credit:www.spacefacts.de |
![]() | Mir EP-2 Credit:www.spacefacts.de |
Transported to the Mir orbital station a Soviet/Bulgarian crew comprising cosmonauts A Y Solovyev, V P Savinykh and A P Aleksandrov (Bulgaria) to conduct joint research and experiments with cosmonauts V G Titov and M K Manarov. Interim orbit 343 x 282 km. Maneuvered to Mir's 355 x 349 km orbit. Docked 15:57 GMT 9 June to Mir's aft port. Moved to forward port 18 June.