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

. 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 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 ...

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 to Earth. The expedition ended with the undocking of Soyuz TMA-13M ...

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 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 ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. 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 or Arqalyq (, ', ; ) is a city in Kostanay Region, northern Kazakhstan. Earlier, it was the centre of Torgay Region, which was abolished in 1997. Established in 1956, it acquired the status of the city in 1965. The distance from the town ...

, 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 in Moscow's

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

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