Soyuz TMA-1

This article is about a real spaceflight. For TMA-1, the fictional monolith, see Tycho Magnetic Anomaly TMA-1.

Soyuz TMA-1
Mission insignia
Mission statistics
Mission name	Soyuz TMA-1
Crew size	3
Call sign	Yenisey
Launch pad	Gagarin's Start
Launch date	October 30, 2002 03:11:11 UTC
Landing	May 4, 2003 02:04:25 UTC 49.39° N; 61.2° E
Mission duration	185 days 22 hours 53 minutes 14 seconds
Number of orbits	~3,020
Apogee	235 km
Perigee	193 km
Orbital period	88.7 minutes
Orbital inclination	51.6°
Crew photo
From left to right: Yuri Lonchakov, Sergei Zalyotin and Frank de Winne
Related missions
Previous Subsequent Soyuz TM-34 Soyuz TMA-2

The Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft approaches the ISS for docking.

Soyuz TMA-1^a. was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle with a Russian-Belgian cosmonaut crew blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. This was the fifth Russian Soyuz class shuttle to fly to the International Space Station. It is also the first flight of the TMA-class Soyuz spacecraft. Soyuz TM-34 was the last of the prior Soyuz-TM spacecraft to be launched.

The Soyuz is a three-seat spacecraft is to transport astronauts to the ISS and then there will always be one attached to the ISS for a rescue vehicle for the crew of the outpost. The onboard resources and properties of propellant loaded in the reentry capsule of the Soyuz limit safe operation of the craft in space to six months; thus, Russia committed to fly a new or refurbished Soyuz to the ISS every six months to replace the previous one. These missions to replace the Soyuz at the ISS became known as "taxi" flights.

Crew

Position	Launching crew	Landing crew
Commander	Sergei Zalyotin, RKA Second spaceflight	Nikolai Budarin, RKA Expedition 6 Third spaceflight
Flight Engineer	Frank De Winne, ESA First spaceflight	Kenneth Bowersox, NASA Expedition 6 Fifth spaceflight
Flight Engineer	Yury Lonchakov, RKA Second spaceflight	Donald Pettit, NASA Expedition 6 First spaceflight

Mission parameters

• Mass: 7,220 kg (15,910 lb), gross
• Perigee: 193 km
• Apogee: 235 km
• Inclination: 51.6°
• Period: 88.7 minutes

Docking with ISS

• Docked to ISS: November 1, 2002, 05:01 UTC (to Pirs module)
• Undocked from ISS: May 3, 2003, 22:43 UTC (from Pirs module)

Specifications

Section ref: Astro

• Gross mass: 7,220 kg (15,910 lb).
• Unfuelled mass: 6,320 kg (13,930 lb).
• Height: 6.98 m (22.90 ft).
• Diameter: 2.20 m (7.20 ft).
• Span: 10.70 m (35.10 ft).
• Thrust: 3.92 kN (881 lbf).
• Specific impulse: 305 s.

Mission highlights

In the spring of 2001, a taxi mission to the space station was being scheduled to take place on October 2002. At first the crew was to be Commander Sergei Zalyotin and Flight Engineer Frank De Winne; however, a report released on February 2002 stated that American musician Lance Bass was interested in joining the crew for a one-week mission on board the Russian spacecraft. The mission began to fall through, and by September 2002 they had discontinued the training of Lance Bass due to the mission organizers' failure to meet the terms of the contract. They filled the vacant seat left by Lance Bass with Russian cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov.

While the Soyuz TMA-1 was on orbit, the Feb 2003 Columbia shuttle accident occurred and required a change in crew changeout process. The Soyuz system would become the sole method for crew to launch to and return from ISS, until the space shuttle was returned to service in July 2005.

Soyuz TMA-1 disembarked from ISS on May 4, 2003 and immediately began its return to Earth, marking the first entry and descent for this Soyuz class. A technical malfunction caused the Soyuz control system to abandon the gentler controlled entry and descent and instead fall back to the harsher ballistic reentry and descent. This resulted in a steep and off target landing of the spacecraft. The craft landed 300 miles short of the planned area, and the crew was subjected to severe gravitational loads. Communication with the Soyuz was lost because one antenna was ripped off during descent, and two more did not deploy. The crew regained communications through an emergency transmitter after landing. Due to this event, future crews would be provided with a satellite phone to establish contact with recovery forces.

Subsequent Soyuz TMA missions were able to successfully execute controlled reentries, until the Soyuz TMA-10 and Soyuz TMA-11 missions which both also reverted to ballistic descents.

References

Footnote

^a.T – транспортный – Transportnyi – meaning transport, M – модифицированный – Modifitsirovannyi – meaning modified, A – антропометрический, – Antropometricheskii meaning anthropometric).

External links

• NASA.gov: Expedition 21 and Soyuz TMA-1