# Soyuz TM-8

> 1989 Soviet crewed spaceflight to Mir

**Wikidata**: [Q1424265](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1424265)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_TM-8)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/soyuz-tm-8

## Summary
Soyuz TM-8 was a 1989 Soviet crewed Soyuz-TM spacecraft mission to the Mir space station. Launched on 1989-09-05 from Baikonur Cosmodrome (Gagarin's Start) on a Soyuz-U2 rocket, it carried two crew members and landed in Kazakhstan on 1990-04-19.

## Key Facts
- Mission name: Soyuz TM-8, a crewed flight of the Soyuz-TM spacecraft class.  
- Launch date: 1989-09-05 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Gagarin's Start.  
- Landing date: 1990-04-19; location of landing: Kazakhstan.  
- Launch vehicle: Soyuz-U2.  
- Crew members: Aleksandr Viktorenko (spacecraft commander) and Aleksandr Serebrov (Flight Engineer 1).  
- Mission duration (recorded): 14,367,495 seconds.  
- Orbits completed: 2,680.  
- Orbit type: low Earth orbit; periapsis 390 km; apoapsis 392 km; orbital inclination 51.63°; orbital period 92.4 minutes.  
- Mass at takeoff: 7,150 kilograms.  
- COSPAR ID: 1989-071A; Satellite Catalog Number (SCN): 20218.  
- Program context: Part of the Soviet Soyuz programme; instance_of Soyuz-TM and human spaceflight; followed Soyuz TM-7 and was followed by Soyuz TM-9.

## FAQs
### Q: When was Soyuz TM-8 launched and when did it return to Earth?
A: Soyuz TM-8 was launched on 1989-09-05 and landed on 1990-04-19 in Kazakhstan.

### Q: Who were the crew members on Soyuz TM-8?
A: The mission carried two crew members: Aleksandr Viktorenko (spacecraft commander) and Aleksandr Serebrov (Flight Engineer 1).

### Q: What spacecraft and rocket were used for Soyuz TM-8?
A: The mission used a Soyuz-TM spacecraft launched on a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome (Gagarin's Start).

### Q: What were Soyuz TM-8's basic orbital characteristics?
A: Soyuz TM-8 operated in low Earth orbit with a periapsis of 390 km, apoapsis of 392 km, orbital inclination of 51.63°, and an orbital period of 92.4 minutes.

## Why It Matters
Soyuz TM-8 was one mission in the long-running Soyuz programme that supported continuous Soviet human presence and operations aboard the Mir space station. As an instance of the Soyuz-TM series, it represents the fourth-generation crewed Soyuz spacecraft type used for ferrying and rotating crews on Mir. The mission contributed to Mir station operations by transporting an onboard crew and maintaining station continuity between previous and subsequent Soyuz flights (it followed Soyuz TM-7 and preceded Soyuz TM-9). Its recorded mission statistics — thousands of orbits completed and a multi-month duration between launch and landing — reflect the operational endurance and routine nature of late-1980s Soviet low Earth orbit human spaceflight. The use of the Soyuz-U2 launch vehicle and the Gagarin's Start launch pad ties the flight to established Soviet launch infrastructure. Collectively, Soyuz TM-8 illustrates the operational tempo and technical characteristics of Soyuz-TM missions supporting long-duration space station habitation.

## Notable For
- Being a crewed Soyuz-TM flight to the Mir space station in 1989–1990.  
- Launching from the historic Gagarin's Start at Baikonur Cosmodrome on a Soyuz-U2 rocket.  
- Completing 2,680 orbits of Earth during its mission.  
- Operating with nearly circular low Earth orbit parameters (periapsis ~390 km, apoapsis ~392 km) and a 51.63° inclination.  
- Recording a takeoff mass of 7,150 kg for the Soyuz-TM spacecraft at launch.

## Body

### Mission overview
- Name: Soyuz TM-8.  
- Role: Crewed spacecraft mission to the Mir space station.  
- Programme: Soyuz programme; instance_of: Soyuz-TM and human spaceflight.  
- Sequence: Followed Soyuz TM-7; followed by Soyuz TM-9.

### Launch and landing
- Launch date and timepoint recorded: 1989-09-05.  
- Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome; specific pad: Gagarin's Start.  
- Launch vehicle: Soyuz-U2.  
- Significant event: Rocket launch from Gagarin's Start on 1989-09-05.  
- Landing date: 1990-04-19.  
- Location of landing: Kazakhstan.

### Crew
- Aleksandr Viktorenko — spacecraft commander.  
- Aleksandr Serebrov — Flight Engineer 1.

### Spacecraft and mass
- Spacecraft class: Soyuz-TM (fourth generation Soyuz spacecraft).  
- Mass at takeoff: 7,150 kg.

### Orbit and performance
- Orbit regime: Low Earth orbit.  
- Periapsis: 390 km (Earth).  
- Apoapsis: 392 km (Earth).  
- Orbital inclination: 51.63°.  
- Orbital period: 92.4 minutes.  
- Orbits completed: 2,680.

### Identifiers and catalog data
- COSPAR ID: 1989-071A.  
- Satellite Catalog Number (SCN): 20218.  
- Freebase ID: /m/03h1wz.  
- Wikipedia title: Soyuz TM-8.

### Operator and country
- Operator: Soviet space program.  
- Country: Soviet Union.

## Schema Markup
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  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "Soyuz TM-8",
  "description": "Soyuz TM-8 was a 1989 Soviet crewed Soyuz-TM spacecraft mission to the Mir space station.",
  "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_TM-8",
  "sameAs": [
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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-8.htm)