Soyuz TM

The Soyuz TM, short for Transport Modified, was the fourth generation of Soyuz spacecraft and flew from 1986 to 2002 as the ferry to the Mir and International Space Station. Like every Soyuz it had an orbital module, a descent module and a service module. The first launch was the uncrewed Soyuz TM-1, which docked with Mir on 21 May 1986, and the final flight was Soyuz TM-34, which docked with the International Space Station and landed on 10 November 2002. It replaced the Igla docking system of the Soyuz T with the Kurs system, which needed no continuous orientation toward the station and worked from a range of 200 kilometres instead of 30. A new KTDU-80 propulsion module let it manoeuvre independently of the station, a lighter parachute system saved 120 kilograms, and its endurance docked to a station rose to 180 days.