The Soviet manned spaceflight program entered a new era in 1986 when Mir, a more advanced modular space station, was launched. To justify the expense of the space program in a more frugal political and economic climate, the Soviets could no longer give foreign cosmonauts free trips into space for good will. Instead, the Soviet government began offering room aboard the Soyuz TM spacecraft and Mir space station for a fee, payable in hard currency. In 1990 a Japanese journalist became the first paying passenger in space. The round-trip ticket to the Mir space station cost the equivalent of $12 million.

SOYUZ TM-10 SPACECRAFT

In this landing module, cosmonauts Gennadi Manakov and Gennadi Strekalov returned to Earth in December 1990 after a four-month stay on space station Mir. With them was Japanese journalist Toyohiro Akiyama, who had arrived with the new Mir crew on Soyuz TM-11.

The spacecraft is heavily charred from the heat of reentry. Returning cosmonauts customarily autograph their spacecraft after a successful recovery. Their chalk signatures and thank-you's are still visible. Interior control panels and the cosmonauts' seats can be seen through the portholes.

Lent by The Perot Foundation

A SOYUZ SORROW

A poignant reminder of the risks of spaceflight, this doll was autographed by cosmonaut Viktor Patsayev just before the ill-fated Soyuz 11 flight in 1971. After three successful weeks aboard the Salyut 1 space station, Patsayev and his comrades Georgi Dobrovolsky and Vladislav Volkov died during descent when their capsule accidentally depressurized; to fit into the small spacecraft, the three-man crew had to forego wearing space suits. Patsayev had post-dated his signature to the day after his planned return.

Lent by Emmet, Toni, and Tessa Stephenson