Soyuz TM-18

Viktor Afanasyev

• Birthday: 12/31/1948
• Role: Commander
• Nationality: Russian
• First Flight: 12/02/1990
• Last Flight: 10/21/2001

Viktor Mikhailovich Afanasyev Russian: Виктор Михайлович Афанасьев; born 31 December 1948) is a colonel in the Russian Air Force and a test cosmonaut of the Yu. A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

Valeri Polyakov

• Birthday: 04/27/1942
• Role: Research Cosmonaut
• Nationality: Russian
• First Flight: 08/29/1988
• Last Flight: 01/08/1994

Valeri Vladimirovich Polyakov (Russian: Валерий Владимирович Поляков, born Valeri Ivanovich Korshunov on April 27, 1942) is a former Russian cosmonaut. He is the holder of the record for the longest single stay in space in human history, staying aboard the Mir space station for more than 14 months (437 days 18 hours) during one trip. His combined space experience is more than 22 months.

Selected as a cosmonaut in 1972, Polyakov made his first flight into space aboard Soyuz TM-6 in 1988. He returned to Earth 240 days later aboard TM-7. Polyakov completed his second flight into space in 1994–1995, spending 437 days in space between launching on Soyuz TM-18 and landing on TM-20, setting the record for the longest time continuously spent in space by an individual in human history.

Yury Usachov

• Birthday: 10/09/1957
• Role: Flight Engineer
• Nationality: Russian
• First Flight: 01/08/1994
• Last Flight: 03/08/2001

Yury Vladimirovich Usachov (Russian: Юрий Владимирович Усачёв; born October 9, 1957 in Donetsk, Rostov Oblast, Russia) is a former cosmonaut who resides in Star City, Moscow. Usachov is a veteran of four spaceflights, including two long duration missions on board the Mir Space Station and another on board the International Space Station.

Soyuz TM-18

• Type: Human Exploration
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit

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.

1/5

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

1/5 has witnessed the launch of 487 rockets, including 487 orbital launch attempts, while Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan, has been the site for 1547 rocket launches.

Soviet Space Program 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.

Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS)

The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, commonly known as Roscosmos, is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of the Russian Federation and general aerospace research. Soyuz has many launch locations the Russian sites are Baikonur, Plesetsk and Vostochny however Ariane also purchases the vehicle and launches it from French Guiana.