Mir EO-10

Mir EO-10 was the tenth long-duration resident expedition to the Mir space station. Aleksandr Volkov launched on Soyuz TM-13 in October 1991 with Toktar Aubakirov and Franz Viehboeck, then traded places with Anatoly Artsebarsky after the short Austromir handover. Sergei Krikalev, who had launched earlier on Soyuz TM-12, remained aboard Mir with Volkov to form the new resident crew. The mission took place during the breakup of the Soviet Union and a difficult operational period for Mir. Volkov and Krikalev maintained station systems, supported visiting and cargo spacecraft, handled battery and attitude-control work, and continued scientific operations while ground support was under financial and organizational pressure. On February 20, 1992, they performed a 4-hour, 12-minute EVA from Kvant-2; a cooling-system issue in Volkov's suit forced a revised plan, with Volkov working near the hatch while Krikalev moved to external work sites. Volkov and Krikalev returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-13 on March 25, 1992, joined by Klaus-Dietrich Flade after the Mir 92 visitor mission.