Anatoli Semyonovich Levchenko (Russian: Анатолий Семёнович Левченко; May 5, 1941 – August 6, 1988) was a Soviet cosmonaut. Levchenko was planned to be the back-up commander of the first Buran space shuttle flight, and in March 1987 he began extensive training for a Soyuz spaceflight, intended to give him some experience in space. In December 1987, he occupied the third seat aboard the spacecraft Soyuz TM-4 to the space station Mir, and returned to Earth about a week later on Soyuz TM-3. His mission is sometimes called Mir LII-1, after the Gromov Flight Research Institute shorthand. In the year following his spaceflight, Levchenko died of a brain tumor, in the Nikolay Burdenko Neurosurgical Institute in Moscow.

Soyuz-U2 | Soyuz TM-3

Soviet Space Program | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
July 22, 1987, 1:59 a.m.

Status: Success

Mission:

Soyuz TM-3 was the third mission to Mir space station. The mission began on July 22, 1987, 01:59:17 UTC, launching Commander Alexander Viktorenko, Flight Engineer Aleksandr Aleksandrov and Research Cosmonaut Muhammed Faris, the first Syrian cosmonaut, into orbit. They docked with Mir two days later. During their stay there, crew conducted Earth observation, medical and other scientific experiments. The mission concluded with a safe landing back on Earth on July 30, 1987, 01:04:12 UTC.

Low Earth Orbit

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Soyuz-U2 | Soyuz TM-4

Soviet Space Program | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Dec. 21, 1987, 11:18 a.m.

Status: Success

Mission:

Soyuz TM-4 was the fourth mission to Mir space station. The mission began on December 21, 1987, 11:18:03 UTC, launching Commander Vladimir Titov, Flight Engineer Musa Manarov and Research Cosmonaut Anatoli Levchenko into orbit. They docked with Mir two days later. During their stay there, crew carried out over 2000 various experiments, performed two EVAs. They were visited by Soyuz TM-5 and Soyuz TM-6 crews. Vladimir Levchenko spent only a week on the station, while other two members of the crew stayed for a long duration mission. They returned on a Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft, landing safely back on Earth on December 21, 1988, 09:57:00 UTC.

Low Earth Orbit

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