Engineering:Soyuz TMA-15M

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Short description: 2014 Russian crewed spaceflight to the ISS
Soyuz TMA-15M
ISS-44 Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft undocks.jpg
Soyuz TMA-15M undocks from the ISS, 11 June 2015.
Mission typeISS crew transport
OperatorRoskosmos
COSPAR ID2014-074A
SATCAT no.40312
Mission duration199d 16h 42m 46s
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSoyuz 11F732A47 No.715
Spacecraft typeSoyuz-TMA 11F747
ManufacturerRKK Energia
Crew
Crew size3
MembersAnton Shkaplerov
Samantha Cristoforetti
Terry W. Virts, Jr.
CallsignАстрей ("Astraeus")
Start of mission
Launch date23 November 2014
21:00:14 UTC
RocketSoyuz-FG
Launch siteBaikonur 31/6
End of mission
Landing date11 June 2015
13:44 UTC[1]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Docking with ISS
Docking portRassvet nadir
Docking date24 November 2014
02:49 UTC
Undocking date11 June 2015
10:20 UTC
Time docked199 days, 7 hours, 31 minutes
Soyuz TMA-15M crew during a routine operations training session at JSC.jpg
(l-r) Shkaplerov, Cristoforetti and Virts
Soyuz programme
(Crewed missions)
 

Soyuz TMA-15M was a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 42 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-15M was the 124th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, the first flight launching in 1967. The Soyuz remained docked to the space station for the Expedition 43 increment, serving as an emergency escape vehicle until departing and returning to Earth as scheduled in June 2015.

Crew

Position[2] Crew Member
Commander Russia Anton Shkaplerov, RSA
Expedition 42
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1 Italy Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA
Expedition 42
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2 United States Terry W. Virts, Jr., NASA
Expedition 42
Second and last spaceflight

Backup crew

Position[3] Crew Member
Commander Russia Oleg Kononenko, RSA
Flight Engineer 1 Japan Kimiya Yui, JAXA
Flight Engineer 2 United States Kjell N. Lindgren, NASA

Mission highlights

Launch, rendezvous and docking

Soyuz TMA-15M launched successfully aboard a Soyuz-FG rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 21:01 UTC on Sunday, 23 November 2014. The spacecraft reached low Earth orbit approximately nine minutes after lift-off. After executing rendezvous maneuvers, the Soyuz docked with the International Space Station at 02:49 UTC on 24 November, with hatch opening occurring at 05:00 UTC.[4]

Soyuz TMA-15M was scheduled to remain docked to the ISS—serving as an emergency escape vehicle, planned to be on-board until May 2015. The landing was delayed until June 2015,[1] when it was set to depart and return Shkaplerov, Cristoforetti and Virts to Earth.

Cristoforetti commemorated the spaceflight by gifting three Lego minifigures of herself, Virts and Shkaplerov to the other members of the Expedition 42 crew. They had been commissioned by ESA and built by a British custom Lego kitmaker.[5]

Undocking and return to Earth

Soyuz TMA-15M accidentally fired its engines one day before undocking. The one minute burn slightly shifted ISS position.

Soyuz TMA-15M undocked from the ISS at 10:20 UTC on 11 June 2015, containing Shkaplerov, Cristoforetti, and Virts. Following a deorbit burn, the Soyuz spacecraft's descent module reentered the Earth's atmosphere. The crew landed safely in Kazakhstan at 13:44 UTC on 11 June, just over three hours after departing the ISS.

Gallery

References