The Soyuz TM-24 spacecraft was successfully launched into orbit on August 17, 1996, as part of the ongoing Russian space exploration program.
.Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe (72) weds Grace Marufu (31) at Kutama College in Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe
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This mission was part of the continued Soviet and Russian tradition of space missions to the Mir space station, representing an important moment in human spaceflight during the mid-1990s.