Soyuz TM-7 was a crewed Soyuz spaceflight to Mir. It launched on 26 November 1988, at 15:49:34, and was the start of the fourth long duration expedition to Mir, Mir EO-4. The crew would join the third crew member of EO-4, cosmonaut/physician Valeri Polyakov, who was on Mir for the second half of EO-3. Also launched by Soyuz TM-7 was French astronaut Jean-Loup Chrétien, who would take part in the 24-day French mission known as Mir Aragatz. The spacecraft Soyuz TM-7 remained docked to Mir for the duration of EO-4. At the end of EO-4 in April 1989, due to delays in the launch schedule, Mir was left uncrewed, and all three EO-4 crew members were transported back to Earth. Crew Backup crew Aleksandr Viktorenko Aleksandr Serebrov Michel Tognini Mission parameters Mass: 7,000 kg 15,400 lb Perigee: 194 km (120 mi) Apogee: 235 km (146 mi) Inclination: 51.6° Period: 88.8 minutes Mission highlights The original launch date of November 21 was moved back to permit French president François Mitterrand to view the launch, which was also attended by David Gilmour and Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, who made an audio recording of the event for potential use in a future project. The spacecraft arrived at the Mir station carrying a three-man crew, including French cosmonaut Chrétien on his second flight into space. Titov, Manarov, and Chrétien returned to Earth in Soyuz TM-6. Alexander Volkov, Sergei Krikalev, and Valeri Polyakov remained aboard Mir. On 1989 April 28, they left Mir in mothballs and returned to Earth in Soyuz-TM 7. The Soyuz-TM land landing system is effective at reducing velocity in the vertical direction. However, according to cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, winds at the landing site often impart considerable horizontal velocity. As a result, about 80 percent of all Soyuz descent modules come to rest on their sides. During the rough landing, Krikalev suffered a minor injury to his knee. Preparations for the first EVA involving a non-Soviet/non-U.S. space traveler forced the cosmonauts to cut short a TV meeting with diplomats from 47 countries on December 8. On December 9, Chrétien and Volkov depressurized the multiport docking adapter and clambered outside Mir. Chrétien was first out. He installed handrails, then attached the 15.5 kg (34 lb) Échantillons experiment rack to the handrails by springs and hooks. He also attached electrical wires leading from the rack to Mir's power supply. Échantillons carried five technological