Soyuz TMA-1

Soyuz TMA-1

COSPAR ID	2002-050A
SATCAT no.	27552
Crew
Members	3
File:Soyuz TMA-1crew.jpg

Soyuz TMA-1 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle.

Crew

Launched:

• Sergei Zalyotin (2) - Russia
• Frank De Winne (1) - ESA Belgium
• Yuri Lonchakov (2) - Russia

Landed ISS Expedition 6 crew:

• Nikolai Budarin (3) - Russia
• Kenneth Bowersox (5) - United States
• Donald Pettit (1) - United States

Mission parameters

• Mass: ? kg
• 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)

Mission highlights

The Soyuz spacecraft approaches the ISS for docking

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.

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 onboard 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.

A technical malfunction caused a steep and off target landing of the spacecraft after a ballistic reentry and descent. 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 will have a satellite phone at their disposal to establish contact with recovery forces.