Soyuz TMA-04M was a spaceflight to

Low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

that transported three members of the

Expedition 31 Expedition 31 was the 31st long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). It began on 27 April 2012 with the departure from the ISS of the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft, which returned the Expedition 30 crew to Earth. The expeditio ...

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 ...

(ISS), which was launched on 15 May 2012 and landed on 17 September 2012. TMA-04M was the

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 ...

's 113th flight since its initial launch in 1967, and the fourth launch of the improved

Soyuz TMA-M Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз (Russian and Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Сою́з Сове́тских Социалис ...

series (first launched 7 October 2010). As per the mission plan, the spacecraft remained docked to the space station to serve as an emergency escape vehicle during Expedition 31. The mission was successfully launched to the International Space Station 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 ...

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, 15 May 2012, at 3:01:23 UTC (9:01:23 local time). The Soyuz docked successfully with the ISS on 17 May at 4:36 UTC. The spacecraft carried to the ISS a three-person crew (

Gennady Padalka Gennady Ivanovich Padalka (russian: Гeннадий Иванович Падалка; born 21 June 1958 in Krasnodar, Soviet Union) is a Russian Air Force officer and a Roscosmos cosmonaut. Padalka currently holds the world record for List of spac ...

, Russia;

Sergei Revin Sergei Nikolayevich Revin (born January 12, 1966 in Moscow) is a Russian cosmonaut that was selected in 1996, and completed spaceflight training in 1998. He served as a crew member aboard the International Space Station, having launched on his f ...

, Russia; Joseph Acaba, United States). The mission landed successfully in Kazakhstan on 17 September 2012, at 2:53 UTC.

Crew

Backup crew

Spacecraft

Soyuz TMA-04M was the fourth mission using the upgraded

spacecraft, which has a modernised flight control system and a reduced mass. The spacecraft was designed and manufactured by

S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation 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 manned transport vehicle of a new series
Energia Corporation

Mission highlights

Soyuz TMA-04M was successfully launched to the International Space Station from the

on Tuesday, 15 May 2012, at 3:01:23 UTC (9:01:23 local Baikonur time). The spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on Thursday, 17 May at 4:36 UTC, linking to the ''Poisk'' docking module. After the departure of

Soyuz TMA-03M Soyuz TMA-03M was a spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS). It launched on 21 December 2011 from Site One at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, carrying three members of Expedition 30 to the ISS. TMA-03M was the 112th flight of ...

on 1 June the crew members of TMA-04M conducted the first portion of

Expedition 32 Expedition 32 was the 32nd long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). It began on 1 July 2012 with the departure from the ISS of the Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft, which returned the Expedition 31 crew to Earth, and conclude ...

until the commencement of the second portion with the arrival of the remaining crew members aboard

Soyuz TMA-05M Soyuz TMA-05M was the 114th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. It was launched on 15 July 2012, transporting three members of the Expedition 32 crew to the International Space Station (ISS). The Soyuz remained docked to the ISS throughout the missio ...

in mid-July. The spacecraft undocked from the ISS at 23:09 UTC on 16 September and landed at 2:53 UTC on September 17 in Kazakhstan.

Gallery

File:Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft integration facility 3.jpg, The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft during pre-launch processing on 8 May 2012. File:Expedition 31 crew wave goodbye.jpg, The TMA-04M crew wave to spectators before launch on May 15, 2012. File:Expedition 31 Soyuz launch.jpg, The Soyuz TMA-04M mission lifts-off to the ISS on 15 May 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soyuz TMA-M04 Crewed Soyuz missions Spacecraft launched in 2012 Spacecraft which reentered in 2012 Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-FG rockets