Unusual docking procedure. The Soviets intended to dock Soyuz-T 15 with Mir’s forward port, leaving the aft port free for arriving Progress spacecraft. However, Soyuz-T 15, like its Soyuz-T precursors, was equipped with the Igla approach system, not the Kurs system used on Mir’s front port. Soyuz-T 15 approached Mir from behind. At 20 km Soyuz-T 15’s Igla system acquired its counterpart on Mir’s aft port. At 200 m the Igla system was shut off, and the Mayaks manually maneuvered around the station to dock at the front port. They used the same laser range finder used by Soyuz-T 13 to dock with the uncooperative Salyut 7 station in 1985.[1]
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