Soyuz TMA-01M was a

Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Soviet Union, Union of Soviet Socialist Republi ...

flight that transported three members of the

Expedition 25 Expedition 25 was the 25th long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition 25 began with the Soyuz TMA-18 undocking on 25 September 2010. Three new crewmembers (Scott Kelly, Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka) arrive ...

crew to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

. TMA-01M was the 107th 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 ...

, and the first flight of the modernized TMA-M series. The spacecraft remained docked to the space station during Expedition 25, to serve as an emergency escape vehicle. The spacecraft's COSPAR ID was 2010-052A.

Crew

The Soyuz TMA-01M crew was confirmed by NASA on 21 November 2008.

Backup crew

Spacecraft

Soyuz TMA-01M is the first spacecraft of the new modernized

Soyuz TMA-M The Soyuz TMA-M was a spacecraft developed by Energia (corporation), Energia and operated by Roscosmos for human spaceflight. Introduced in 2010, it was a revision of the Soyuz spacecraft with upgrades over its predecessor, the Soyuz T ...

series, developed and built by Energia as an upgrade of the baseline

Soyuz-TMA The Soyuz-TMA () was a spacecraft built by Energia and used by Roscosmos for human spaceflight. It is a revision of the Soyuz spacecraft introduced in 2001 and was in use until 2012 after being superseded in 2010 by the Soyuz TMA-M. While it lo ...

, which has been in use since 2002. 36 obsolete pieces of equipment have been replaced with 19 new-generation devices and the vehicle's total mass has been reduced by 70 kilograms (154 lbs). In particular, the old Argon-16 computer control system, which has been used on Soyuz ships for more than 30 years, has been replaced with a new digital onboard computer, the TsVM-101. Power consumption has been reduced throughout the ship. There are also changes to the spacecraft's structure, such as replacing the magnesium alloy used in the instrument module frame by aluminium alloy, to make the ship easier to manufacture. The modernized Soyuz ship will also enable engineers to test new equipment which may also be used in Russia's next generation crewed space ship that is currently under development. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, part of Soyuz TMA-01M's crew, praised the ship's new displays, saying that they make flying easier and less operator intensive. Two flight development tests are planned: Soyuz TMA-01M and

Soyuz TMA-02M Soyuz TMA-02M was a space mission that transported three members of the Expedition 28 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-02M was the 110th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft (first launched 1967) and the second flight of the improved Soyuz- ...

. The third ship,

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 ...

will be used for qualification tests. In addition to verifying the nominal operation of the spaceship, the testing will include verification of off-nominal modes, such as manual attitude control, issuing of orbital maneuvering pulses using four berthing and attitude thrusters, and flying around the ISS in manual control mode. After the launch of Soyuz TMA-01M, Russian space officials said the new spacecraft performed normally with no problems of any significance. "Soyuz TMA-01M is a digital spacecraft, digital vehicle. As you saw today, it worked extremely well, it was an automatic flight, 100 percent automatic," said Vitaly Lopota, president RSC Energia.

Mission highlights

Launch

The spacecraft lifted off aboard a

Soyuz-FG The Soyuz-FG was an improved variant of the Soyuz-U launch vehicle from the R-7 (rocket family), R-7 rocket family, developed by the Progress Rocket Space Centre in Samara, Russia. It featured upgraded first and second stage engines, RD-107A and ...

rocket from the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...

at 23:10:55

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

on Thursday, 7 October 2010 (5:10:55 AM Friday at local time). In 9 minutes, the vehicle reached

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an geocentric orbit, orbit around Earth with a orbital period, period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an orbital eccentricity, eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial object ...

with the following parameters: min altitude – 199,85 km; max altitude – 258,77 km; revolution – 88,81 min; inclination– 51,63 degrees. Soon after the orbital insertion, the spacecraft unfolded its solar panels and antennas, and flight control gave the ship green light for starting its approach to the

Docking

The Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft linked up with the space station at 00:01 UTC on Sunday, 10 October 2010, precisely one minute ahead of schedule. Docking to the Poisk module occurred when both spacecraft were flying more than 220 miles (354 km) above the southern Pacific Ocean, just off the coast from Chile. A few moments later, hooks and latches engaged to pull the spacecraft firmly into place and after extensive leak checks, hatches were opened at 03:09 UTC. Soyuz TMA-01M seen as it lands

Landing

Soyuz TMA-01M undocked from the Poisk module at 4:27 GMT on 16 March 2011. Slowing the spacecraft to begin the fall to Earth was initiated by a four-minute 17-second rocket firing starting at 7:03:17 GMT. Just before the atmospheric re-entry, the three modules making up the Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft separated as planned. Following a nominal re-entry, the central module carrying the crew touched down on its side at 7:54 GMT near Arkalyk in north central Kazakhstan. A few minutes later, Kaleri, Kelly and Skripochka were pulled from the capsule and placed in reclining chairs. The weather at the landing side was harsh with high winds and viciously frigid temperatures. At one point in his live landing commentary, NASA spokesman Rob Navias said "You would think that was a scene out of the North Pole," to explain the extreme climatic conditions.

Gallery

File:Soyuz TMA-01M prime and backup crews at Kremlin Wall.jpg, The Soyuz TMA-01M prime and backup crews conduct their ceremonial tour on 17 September 2010. File:Soyuz TMA-01M rollout.jpg, Soyuz TMA-01M, being rolled out to the launch pad at the

in 2010. File:Soyuz TMA-01M launch.jpg, The Soyuz TMA-01M launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. File:Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft approaches the ISS 2.jpg, The Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft approaches the ISS. File:Soyuz TMA-01M crewmembers after the landing.jpg, Kaleri, Skripochka and Kelly sit in chairs after they landed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soyuz TMA-M01 Spacecraft launched in 2010 Crewed Soyuz missions Spacecraft which reentered in 2011 Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-FG rockets