Foale on Mir Crisis: Blame Shifts, Courage Stands Tall

Astronaut Michael Foale discusses the 1997 Mir crisis in PBS’s Once Upon a Time in Space, recounting how a manual docking of a Progress cargo ship tore Spektr and flooded the station with decompression. Foale, along with cosmonauts Vasily Tsibliev and Alexander Lazutkin, helped halt the leak and stabilize Mir during a life-threatening moment with limited oxygen. He notes Tsibliev bore the blame for the collision, a burden Foale says was unfair, highlighting the intense teamwork and international cooperation behind spaceflight.