Soyuz TM-10

The Soyuz-TM crew transports (T - транспортный - Transportnyi - meaning transport, M - модифицированный - Modifitsirovannyi - meaning modified) were fourth generation (1986–2002) Soyuz spacecraft used for ferry flights to the Mir and ISS space stations. It added to the Soyuz-T new docking and rendezvous, radio communications, emergency and integrated parachute/landing engine systems. The new Kurs rendezvous and docking system permitted the Soyuz-TM to maneuver independently of the station, without the station making "mirror image" maneuvers to match unwanted translations introduced by earlier models' aft-mounted attitude control.

Soyuz TM-10 was the tenth expedition to the Russian Space Station Mir.

Crew

Position	Launching crew	Landing crew
Commander	Gennadi Manakov First spaceflight
Flight Engineer	Gennady Strekalov Fourth spaceflight
Research Cosmonaut	None	Toyohiro Akiyama (Reporter) First spaceflight

Mission highlights

Side of the Soyuz TM-10 where it was signed by all its passengers. The inscription in Japanese reads Toyohiro Akiyama (秋山豊寛).

TM-10 marked the return to earth of Japanese reporter Toyohiro Akiyama.

The Soyuz arrived at Mir's aft port with four passengers: quail for cages in Kvant-2. A quail had laid an egg en route to the station. It was returned to Earth, along with 130 kg of experiment results and industrial products, in Soyuz TM-9. The spacecraft landed without incident.

It spent 131 days attached to Mir. A camera was installed in the descent module as part of the agreement with Akiyama’s network to film the reactions of the returning cosmonauts.