Soyuz TMA-13M was a 2014 flight 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 ( ...

. It transported three members of the

Expedition 40 Expedition 40 was the 40th expedition to the International Space Station. A portion of the Expedition 39 crew transferred to Expedition 40 while the remainder of the crew launched on May 28, 2014 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Upon ach ...

crew to the International Space Station. TMA-13M was the 122nd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since 1967, and the 39th Soyuz mission to the ISS. The Soyuz remained docked to the space station for the

Expedition 41 Expedition 41 was the 41st expedition to the International Space Station. It began on 10 September 2014 with the undocking of Soyuz TMA-12M, returning the crew of Expedition 40 Expedition 40 was the 40th expedition to the International Space St ...

increment to serve as an emergency escape vehicle until its departure in November 2014.

Crew

Backup crew

Mission highlights

Rollout

The Soyuz FG rocket carrying the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft was rolled to the launch pad at Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 26 May 2014. Under sunny skies, the roll out began at 7 o'clock in the morning. The rollout was attended by the Soyuz backup crew members, Anton Shkaplerov, Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts. The Soyuz TMA-13M prime crew was not at the event, since it is considered to bring bad luck. Once the 49.5 meter tall Soyuz FG rocket was erected in its vertical launch position, the launcher was enclosed by its service structure, to provide protection and access platforms for workers.

Launch, rendezvous and docking

Launch of Soyuz TMA-13M occurred successfully at 19:57 UTC on May 28, 2014, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome 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 ...

. Upon achieving orbit approximately nine minutes after launch, TMA-13M began a four-orbit rendezvous with the International Space Station. Soyuz TMA-13M subsequently docked with the Rassvet module of the ISS at 1:44 UTC on May 29. Hatches were opened between the two spacecraft just over two hours later at 3:52 UTC.

Undocking and return to Earth

Soyuz TMA-13M undocked from the International Space Station at 00:31 UTC on November 10, 2014, with a 4-minute, 41-second deorbit burn occurring at 03:05 UTC. The spacecraft successfully landed northwest of

Arkalyk Arkalyk ( kz, Arqalyq; cyrl, Арқалық, russian: Аркалык) is a city in Kostanay Region, northern Kazakhstan. Earlier, it was the centre of Torgay Region, which was abolished in 1997. Today, it is the administrative centre of Torgay D ...

, Kazakhstan at 03:58 UTC.

Gallery

File:Soyuz_TMA-13M_crew_in_front_of_St._Basil's_Cathedral_in_Moscow_with_red_flowers.jpg, Soyuz crew in front of

St. Basil's Cathedral The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed ( rus, Собо́р Васи́лия Блаже́нного, Sobór Vasíliya Blazhénnogo), commonly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church in Red Square of Moscow, and is one of the most po ...

in Moscow's

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

File:Expedition 40 Launch (201405290009HQ).jpg, TMA-13M launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome File:Soyuz TMA-13M-5-28-2014-25m-final-approach-hand-in-window.png, Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft on 5-28-14 at a distance of 25m on final approach, astronaut's hand can be seen in the window.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soyuz TMA-M13 Crewed Soyuz missions Spacecraft launched in 2014 2014 in Russia Spacecraft which reentered in 2014 Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-FG rockets