# Soyuz TM-13

> Space mission of Sojuz program

**Wikidata**: [Q677519](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q677519)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_TM-13)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/soyuz-tm-13

## Summary
Soyuz TM-13 was a 1991–1992 Soviet crewed spaceflight to the Mir space station that carried the first Austrian cosmonaut and the last Kazakh-born cosmonaut before the USSR dissolved. Launched on 2 October 1991 and landing on 25 March 1992, the 175-day mission bridged the Soviet and Russian space eras.

## Key Facts
- Launch date: 2 October 1991 at 05:59 UTC from Gagarin’s Start, Baikonur Cosmodrome
- Landing date: 25 March 1992 in Kazakhstan
- Flight duration: 175 days 8 h 51 min (15 130 304 s)
- Spacecraft: Soyuz-TM (4th-generation); launch mass 7 150 kg
- Launch vehicle: Soyuz-U2 rocket
- Orbit: 195 km × 232 km, 51.64° inclination, 92.4 min period
- Orbits completed: 2 730
- Crew at launch: Aleksandr Volkov (commander), Toktar Aubakirov (Kazakh research cosmonaut), Franz Viehböck (Austrian research cosmonaut)
- Crew at landing: Volkov, Klaus-Dietrich Flade (German), Sergei Krikalev (flight engineer)
- COSPAR ID: 1991-069A; NSSDC ID: 21735
- Part of: Soyuz programme; followed Soyuz TM-12, followed by Soyuz TM-14

## FAQs
### Q: What made Soyuz TM-13 historically unique?
A: It was the final Soviet spaceflight—launching under the USSR and landing after the Soviet Union dissolved. It also carried Austria’s first cosmonaut and the last Kazakh cosmonaut launched by the Soviet space program.

### Q: How long did the crew stay on Mir?
A: The mission lasted 175 days, with the Soyuz TM-13 capsule docked to Mir from 4 October 1991 until undocking on 25 March 1992.

### Q: Who flew on Soyuz TM-13?
A: Commander Aleksandr Volkov stayed for the full expedition; Austrian Franz Viehböck and Kazakh Toktar Aubakirov returned with TM-12 after a week, while German Klaus-Dietrich Flade and Sergei Krikalev joined Volkov for the ride home.

## Why It Matters
Soyuz TM-13 marks the exact moment when Soviet space activity became Russian: launched under the red flag, it landed under the white-blue-red tricolor. The mission kept human spaceflight continuous through the USSR’s collapse, ensuring Mir operations—and later the International Space Station—could proceed without interruption. By flying the first Austrian and the last Kazakh cosmonaut of the Soviet era, it also demonstrated the commercial and diplomatic potential of human missions, paving the way for today’s international astronaut flights to the ISS. The flight’s success validated the Soyuz-TM design for long-duration stays and proved that political upheaval need not break the human presence in space.

## Notable For
- Last crewed launch of the Soviet Union; first landing of the Russian Federation
- First Austrian in space (Franz Viehböck)
- Final Kazakh cosmonaut launched by the USSR (Toktar Aubakirov)
- Longest mission of the 1991–1992 Mir expedition sequence (175 days)
- One of the last flights of the Soyuz-U2 rocket variant

## Body
### Mission timeline
- 2 Oct 1991 05:59 UTC – Liftoff from Site 1/5, Baikonur
- 4 Oct 1991 – Docked to Mir’s front port
- 10 Oct 1991 – Viehböck & Aubakirov returned to Earth aboard TM-12 with Anatoli Artsebarski
- Mar 1992 – Crew swap: Flade & Krikalev launched on TM-14, replaced by Volkov’s team
- 25 Mar 1992 08:51 UTC – TM-13 descent module touched down 70 km NE of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan

### Spacecraft details
Soyuz-TM 13 carried the standard 7 150 kg spherical-entry capsule, upgraded solar panels, and the Kurs automatic rendezvous system. The orbital module provided 5 m³ of extra volume for the short-duration visiting researchers.

### Scientific program
Dubbed “Austromir-91,” the mission ran 15 Austrian experiments in materials science, space medicine, and Earth observation. Kazakh researchers contributed Earth-remote-sensing tasks, while German experiments were performed during Flade’s brief stay.

### Post-mission
The descent module is displayed at the Technisches Museum Wien, Austria. Flight data supported certification of the Soyuz-TM for 180-day on-orbit life, a standard still used today.

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## References

1. Jonathan's Space Report
2. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
3. [Source](http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/soyuz-tm-13.htm)
4. Quora