Soyuz TMA-15

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Soyuz TMA-15
Союз ТМА-15
Mission insignia
Soyuz-TMA-15-Mission-Patch.png
Mission statistics
Mission name Soyuz TMA-15
Союз ТМА-15
Crew size 3
Call sign Таймыр (Taymyr)[1] or
Парус (Parus, meaning Sail)[1]
Launch vehicle Soyuz-FG
Launch pad LC-1/5, Baikonur Cosmodrome
Launch date May 27, 2009[2][3]
10:34 UTC
Landing December 1, 2009[4]
07:17 UTC
Crew photo
Soyuz TMA-15 crew.jpg
From left to right; Thirsk, Romanenko and De Winne
Related missions
Previous Subsequent
Soyuz TMA-14 Soyuz TMA-14 Soyuz TMA-16Soyuz TMA-16

Soyuz TMA-15 was a manned spaceflight to the International Space Station. Part of the Soyuz programme, it transported three members of the Expedition 20 crew to the space station. TMA-15 was the 102nd manned flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, since Soyuz 1 in 1967. The Soyuz spacecraft remain docked to the space station during Expedition 20 and Expedition 21 as an emergency escape vehicle. The mission marked the start of six-person crew operations on the ISS.

Contents

Crew [edit]

Position[5][6] Crew Member
Commander Roman Romanenko
Expedition 20
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1 Frank De Winne, ESA
Expedition 20
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2 Robert Thirsk, CSA
Expedition 20
Second spaceflight

Backup crew [edit]

Position Cosmonaut
Commander Dmitrij Kondratiyev
Flight Engineer 1 André Kuipers, ESA
Flight Engineer 2 Chris Hadfield, CSA

Mission highlights [edit]

The rollout of Soyuz TMA-15 on 25 May, with an American flag painted on the capsule

Soyuz TMA-15 was launched successfully by a Soyuz-FG carrier rocket from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, at 10:34 UTC on 27 May 2009. It docked with the ISS at 12:34 UTC on 29 May 2009.

Roman Romanenko was the third second-generation space traveller. He was reported to have chosen Taymyr (Russian: Таймыр) as the mission callsign because it was the callsign on his father's first flight, Soyuz 26;[1] however, the callsign Parus (Russian: Парус meaning Sail) was used for communications with the spacecraft.[1] Robert Thirsk became the first Canadian to fly on a Soyuz; all previous Canadians in space had flown aboard Space Shuttles. Frank De Winne became the first West-European to be in command of the ISS.

The craft and crew returned to earth 1 December 2009.

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d NASA TV coverage of the launch of Soyuz TMA-15, 2009-05-27
  2. ^ CSA (2008). "Canadian astronauts Julie Payette and Robert Thirsk to go on space missions in 2009". CSA. Retrieved February 27, 2008. 
  3. ^ NASA. "Consolidated Launch Manifest". NASA. Retrieved March 28, 2009. 
  4. ^ NASA (Nov. 24, 2009). "NASA TV to Broadcast Space Station Crew Soyuz Landing Events". NASA. Retrieved December 1, 2009. 
  5. ^ NASA (Feb. 11, 2008). "NASA Assigns Crews for STS-127 and Expedition 19 Missions". NASA. Retrieved February 11, 2008. 
  6. ^ ESA (2008). "Frank De Winne prepares for new mission". ESA. Retrieved November 3, 2008. 

External links [edit]