Soyuz TMA-02M was a space mission that transported three members of the
Expedition 28
Expedition 28 was the 28th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station, and began on 23 May 2011 with the departure of the members of Expedition 27. The first three members of Expedition 28 arrived on the ISS aboard the Soyuz TM ...
crew to the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
.
[ TMA-02M was the 110th flight of a ]Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz () is a series of spacecraft which has been in service since the 1960s, having made more than 140 flights. It was designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolev Design Bureau (now Energia). The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraf ...
(first launched 1967) and the second flight of the improved Soyuz-TMA-M series (first launched 7 October 2010). The Soyuz remained docked to the space station for the Expedition 28 increment to serve as a potential emergency escape vehicle.
The Soyuz spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
on Tuesday, 7 June 2011 at 20:12 UTC (8 June 2011, 02:12 local time).[Soyuz Blasts Off To International Space Station.](_blank)
Irish Weather Online, 8 June 2011. Accessed 8 June 2011 Originally expected to dock with the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
around 05:22 pm EDT on Thursday, 9 June 2011,[Station-bound Soyuz space capsule climbs into orbit.](_blank)
Spaceflight Now, 7 June 2011. Accessed 8 June 2011 the Soyuz docked with the ISS at 5:18 pm EDT, four minutes ahead of schedule.[ The spacecraft carried to the ISS a three-person crew ( Sergey Volkov, Russia; ]Michael E. Fossum
Michael Edward Fossum (born December 19, 1957, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota) is a former American astronaut, engineer, and thChief Operating Officer of Texas A&M University at Galveston He flew into space on board the NASA Space Shuttle missions ST ...
, U.S.A; Satoshi Furukawa
is a Japanese surgeon and JAXA astronaut. Furukawa was assigned to the International Space Station as a flight engineer on long-duration missions Expedition 28/ 29, lifting off 7 June 2011 and returning 22 November 2011.
Medical career
Furakawa ...
, Japan).[Russian spacecraft blasts off for space station](_blank)
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, 7 June 2011. Accessed 8 June 2011 The crew landed in Kazakhstan at 02:26 UTC on 22 November 2011.
Crew
Backup crew
Mission patch
The former chief of Roscosmos, Anatoly Perminov
Anatoly Nikolayevich Perminov (russian: Анатолий Николаевич Перминов; born 16 June 1945) is a Russian rocket scientist and a mechanical engineer. He served as the General Director of Russian Federal Space Agency in 2004 ...
, approved the Soyuz TMA-02M patch on 11 March 2011. A drawing of a rocket ship by an 8-year-old artist Katya Ikramova from Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...
, Russia offered the inspiration for the Soyuz TMA-02M mission patch.
Pre-launch processing
On 21 April 2011, a train from RSC-Energia arrived at the Turatam railway station to deliver Soyuz TMA-02M. After a customs clearance, the spacecraft was transported to the integration and test facility at Baikonur for further pre-launch processing. The pre-launch processing continued at Baikonur following the delivery. The Soyuz spacecraft underwent testing in the acoustic chamber in early May. The purpose of the test was to verify the Kurs system responsible for rendezvous and docking. After the test, the Soyuz was prepared for leak checks in the vacuum chamber. Final testing including pneumatic tests of the Soyuz-FG rocket continued from 16 to 27 May.
During a meeting held on 23 May to discuss the flight readiness, the Roscosmos Board approved Soyuz TMA-02M launch on 8 June 2011.
On 27 May, the spacecraft was delivered to the filling station at Site 31 for further tanking of the Soyuz propulsion system by propellant components and pressurized gases. The tanking operations continued to the next day. Post tanking operations will continue between 29 May and 3 June. The integration with the launching FG rocket is planned for 4 June. The launch campaign at pad 1 will commence on 5 June and will continue until the launch date of 8 June.
Crew training
The Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center hosted two-day exam sessions for the Soyuz TMA-02M prime and backup crews on 12–13 May 2011. On 12 May, the prime crew passed their integrated training in the ISS simulator while their backups were examined in the Soyuz mockup. The ISS integrated test aims to simulate a working day at the Space Station with instructors introducing few contingencies. On the next day the crews swapped and took the exams.
Soyuz TMA-02M crews arrived at Baikonur on 25 May 2011. After departing from the Chkalovsky airport
Chkalovsky is a military air base near Shchyolkovo, Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located 31 km northeast of Moscow.
In 1932-35, the state flight testing institute was relocated here from Khodynka, the Central Airfield. A reorganisation ...
in Moscow, the plane with the prime crew first landed in Krainy airport at 1 pm local time. Their backups landed 20 minutes later in the next plane. On 26 May 2011, the prime and backup crews began their first training session at Baikonur's Site 254. The prime crew verified cargo accommodation in the Soyuz descent capsule, donned their Sokol space suit
The Sokol space suit, also known as the Sokol IVA suit or simply the Sokol (russian: Cокол, , Falcon), is a type of Soviet/Russian space suit, worn by all who fly on the Soyuz spacecraft. It was introduced in 1973 and is still used . The Sokol ...
s; performed leak checks; and tested the helmet communication system. They also trained with the laser range meter, navigator and other systems. The backup crew of Kononenko, Pettit and Kuipers, with the exception of wearing Sokol suits also trained with the Soyuz systems.
Spacecraft
Soyuz TMA-02M is the second mission using the upgraded Soyuz-TMA-M spacecraft, which has a modernised flight control system and reduced mass. TMA-02M is the second and last flight development test. The third flight (Soyuz TMA-03M) will be a qualification test and will conclude the flight testing programme. The spacecraft was designed and manufactured by RKK Energia
PAO S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (russian: Ракетно-космическая корпорация «Энергия» им. С. П. Королёва, Raketno-kosmicheskaya korporatsiya "Energiya" im. S. P. Korolyov ...
, the largest company of the Russian space industry
Russia's space industry comprises more than 100 companies and employs 250,000 people. Most of the companies are descendants of Soviet design bureaux and state production companies. The industry entered a deep crisis following the dissolution of t ...
.Soyuz TMA-M crewed transport vehicle of a new series
Energia Corporation
Mission highlights
Soyuz TMA-02М was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...
on Tuesday, 7 June 2011 at 21:12 UTC (8 June 2011, 2:12 am local Baikonur time). The spacecraft docked with the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
5:18 pm on Thursday, 9 June 2011, linking with the Rassvet module of the ISS.[ The Soyuz transported a three-person international crew to the International Space Station ( Sergey Volkov, Russia – mission commander; ]Michael E. Fossum
Michael Edward Fossum (born December 19, 1957, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota) is a former American astronaut, engineer, and thChief Operating Officer of Texas A&M University at Galveston He flew into space on board the NASA Space Shuttle missions ST ...
, U.S.A; Satoshi Furukawa
is a Japanese surgeon and JAXA astronaut. Furukawa was assigned to the International Space Station as a flight engineer on long-duration missions Expedition 28/ 29, lifting off 7 June 2011 and returning 22 November 2011.
Medical career
Furakawa ...
, Japan), who remained there until mid-November 2011.
On board the ISS the Soyuz crew joined the Russian cosmonauts Andrei Borisenko
Andrey Ivanovich Borisenko (russian: Андрей Иванович Борисенко; born 17 April 1964) is a Russian cosmonaut. He was selected as a cosmonaut in May 2003, and is a veteran of two long duration missions to the International Spa ...
and Aleksandr Samokutyayev
Aleksandr Mikhailovich Samokutyaev (russian: Александр Михайлович Самокутяев; born 13 March 1970 in Penza, Russian SFSR, USSR) is a Russian politician and former cosmonaut. Samokutyaev served as a Flight Engineer for ...
and the NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
astronaut Ron Garan
Ronald John Garan Jr. (born October 30, 1961) is a retired NASA astronaut. After graduating from State University of New York College at Oneonta in 1982, he joined the Air Force, becoming a Second Lieutenant in 1984. He became an F-16 pilot, ...
, their fellow crew members of Expedition 28.[Soyuz ship blasts off into space](_blank)
Voice of Russia
Voice of Russia ( rus, Голос России, r=Golos Rossii), commonly abbreviated VOR, was the Russian government's international radio broadcasting service from 1993 until 2014, when it was reorganised as Radio Sputnik. Its interval signal w ...
, 8 June 2011. Accessed 9 June 2011
Return to Earth
File:Soyuz TMA-02M reentry.jpg, Plasma trail below the Progress freighter
File:Soyuz TMA-02M landing site from above.jpg, The Soyuz TMA-02M landing site from above
File:Soyuz TMA-02M capsule shortly after landing.jpg, The Soyuz capsule shortly after landing
File:Soyuz TMA-02M crew after landing.jpg, The extracted Soyuz crew
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soyuz TMA-M02
Crewed Soyuz missions
Spacecraft launched in 2011
Spacecraft which reentered in 2011
Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-FG rockets