This U.S. $1 bank note (serial number E31091271P) was carried to the Mir Space Station by Commander Sergei Zalyotin (Серге́й Залётин) on Soyuz TM-30 / MIR EO-28.
The bill left earth along with the crew on April 4, 2000, spending a total of 72 days, 19 hours, 42 minutes in space, and completing 1,145 orbits of the earth. It was onboard Mir station for 70 days, 15 hours (April 6 to June 15), and returned to earth with the crew on June 16, 2000.
The bill carries three official MIR-flown handstamp cancellations, all applied onboard the station. The rear of the bill bears the octagonal "Onboard Manned Orbital Complex Mir" stamp (Борт Орбитального пилотируемого комплекса Мир"), along with the pentagonal "Onboard Space Station Mir" stamp ( "Борт космической станции Мир) - both in black ink. The front of the bill bears the large octagonal "Mir Post Office" cancellation ("Manned Orbital Complex Mir Post Office - USSR"; Орбитальный пилотируемый комплекс Мир Почтовое Отделение CCCP), indicating the date the crew docked with MIR and entered the station (060400 = April 6, 2000). This cancellation was originally applied in purple ink, but the lights in the museum display caused this stamp to fade somewhat to a dark grey-black color. Zalyotin also added a hand-written flight certification and signature ("Onboard Orbital Complex MIR, Zalyotin"; борт ОК Mир, Залётин).
This bill was on public display at the Verkehrshaus der Schweiz (Swiss Transport Museum) in Lucerne, Switzerland for ten years-from 2007 to 2017-on long-term loan from its previous owner, Roger Kilchenmann. The Verkehrshaus der Schweiz is the largest and most popular museum in Switzerland, and this bill was seen by countless thousands of people during the decade it was on display. According to the Vice President of the museum, Commander Zalyotin visited during this time, and was "very excited to see this specific bill," which he carried with him on the mission.
Soyuz TM-30 (Союз ТМ-30), also known as Mir EO-28, was a Soyuz mission, the 39th and final human spaceflight to the MIR space station. The crew of the mission was sent by MirCorp, a privately funded company, to reactivate and repair the station. The crew also resupplied the station and boosted the station to a higher orbit, thus delaying the final deorbit and reentry of the Space Station from 2000 until March 2001.
