Soyuz TM-11 crew (L-R): Toyohiro Akiyama, Viktor Afanasyev, Musa Manarov
Mission patch
Soyuz TM-11, launched December 2, 1990, was the 11th expedition to the space station Mir. Its crew consisted of Commander Viktor Afanasyev, Musa Manarov, and Toyohiro Akiyama (a Japanese reporter).
The cosmonauts remained on board until May 26, 1991, when they returned to Earth with Helen Sharman, a British astronaut. Akiyama returned to Earth December 10, 1990 aboard Soyuz TM-10.
Soyuz TM-33 crew (L-R): Konstantin Kozeyev, Viktor Afansayev, Claudie Haignere
Mission patch
Soyuz TM-33, launched October 21, 2001, carried a new crew and supplies to the International Space Station. Its crew consisted of Commander Viktor Afansayev (Roscosmos), Claudie Haignere (ESA) and Konstantin Kozeyev (Roscosmos). The crew returned to Earth on October 31 on Soyuz TM-32.
Soyuz TM-33 returned to Earth on May 5, 2002 with Commander Yuri Gidzenko (Roscosmos), Roberto Vittori (ESA) and Mark Shuttleworth, a space tourist from South Africa.
Soyuz TM-29, launched February 20, 1999, was the 38th mission to Mir. Its crew consisted of Commander Viktor Afanasyev, Flight Engineer Jean-Pierre Haignere (France), and Research Cosmonaut Ivan Bella (Slovakia). Bella is the first Slovak citizen to go into space. He stayed on Mir for about a week and returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-28.
Afanasyev and Haignere remained on board until August 28 and returned with fellow cosmonaut Sergei Avdeyev.
Soyuz TM-18, launched January 8, 1994, was the 18th mission to the Mir spacecraft. Her crew consisted of Commander Viktor Afanasyev, Flight Engineer Yury Usachov and Research Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov.
Afanasyev and Usachev spent 179 days on Mir and returned to Earth July 9, 1994. Dr. Polyakov stayed for more than 420 days and returned in March 1995 on Soyuz TM-20.
Viktor Mikhailovich Afanasyev, born December 31, 1948 (same day as Donna Summer!) in Bryansk, Russia, is a cosmonaut who has visited both Mir and the International Space Station. From 1985-1987 he took space training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center and flew his first mission on Soyuz TM-11, which launched December 2, 1990. He spent 175 days on Mir as part of the eighth manned expedition (EO-8) returning May 1991.
Afanasyev was commander of Soyuz TM-18 from January-July 1994 as part of the EO-15 crew. This time he spent 182 days on Mir.
His third flight was as commander on Soyuz TM-29, which launched February 1999 to Mir for the EO-27 crew. He returned to Earth in August after 188 days in space.
His fourth and last flight was on Soyuz TM-33 to the International Space Station in October 2001 as commander and returned later that month on Soyuz TM-32.
He has conducted 7 EVAs for a total of over 38 hours and has logged 545 days in space.
Dr. Helen Sharman, a food chemist for Mars Company in England, answered a radio advertisement to be the first British astronaut, no experience required.
Who knew being an astronaut was a walk-on job?
A mere 18 months after being selected, Sharman blasted off with fellow cosmonauts Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergei Krikalev in Soyuz TM-12 May 18, 1991. She spent 8 days in space, conducting medical and agricultural experiments, taking pictures and talking on the radio to school children. She returned on Soyuz TM-11 with cosmonauts Viktor Afanasyev and Musa Manarov.
