Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. 310

Soyuz MS-07

Astraeus

Russia

Russia
Patch Soyuz MS-07 Patch Soyuz MS-07

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Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  17.12.2017
Launch time:  07:21:01.127 UTC
Launch site:  Baikonur
Launch pad:  1
Altitude:  402 - 408 km
Inclination:  51.66°
Docking ISS:  19.12.2017, 08:39:02 UTC
Undocking ISS:  03.06.2018, 09:16:36 UTC
Landing date:  03.06.2018
Landing time:  12:39:13.5 UTC
Landing site:  47°20'04.8" N, 69°40'21.66'' E

walkout photo

Crew Soyuz MS-07

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alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

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Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position Flight No. Duration Orbits
1  Shkaplerov  Anton Nikolayevich  Commander 3 168d 05h 18m 12s  2688 
2  Tingle  Scott David "Maker"  Flight Engineer 1 168d 05h 18m 12s  2688 
3 Japan  Kanai  Norishige  Flight Engineer 1 168d 05h 18m 12s  2688 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Shkaplerov
2  Tingle
3  Kanai
Soyuz MS spacecraft
Landing
1  Shkaplerov
2  Tingle
3  Kanai

Backup Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position
1  Prokopyev  Sergei Valerievich  Commander
2 Gernany  Gerst  Alexander  Flight Engineer
3  Epps  Jeanette Jo  Flight Engineer
Crew Soyuz MS-07 backup
Patch Soyuz MS-07 backup

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Hardware

Launch vehicle:  Soyuz-FG (No. 9M137S R15000-061)
Spacecraft:  Soyuz MS-07 (MS No. 737)

Flight

Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. ISS Expedition 54 / 55 Landing 156 km southeast of Dzheskasgan.

Following a two-day solo flight Soyuz MS-07 docked to ISS on December 19, 2017. Anton Shkaplerov, Scott Tingle and Norishige Kanai became the ISS Expedition 54 (together with ISS Expedition 53 crew members Aleksandr Misurkin, Mark Vande Hei and Joseph Acaba). With the arrival Expedition 54 became a six-person-crew.

The Soyuz spacecraft is composed of three elements attached end-to-end - the Orbital Module, the Descent Module and the Instrumentation/Propulsion Module. The crew occupied the central element, the Descent Module. The other two modules are jettisoned prior to re-entry. They burn up in the atmosphere, so only the Descent Module returned to Earth.
The deorbit burn lasted 280 seconds. Having shed two-thirds of its mass, the Soyuz reached Entry Interface - a point 400,000 feet (121.9 kilometers) above the Earth, where friction due to the thickening atmosphere began to heat its outer surfaces. With only 23 minutes left before it lands on the grassy plains of central Asia, attention in the module turned to slowing its rate of descent.
Eight minutes later, the spacecraft was streaking through the sky at a rate of 755 feet (230 meters) per second. Before it touched down, its speed slowed to only 5 feet (1.5 meter) per second, and it lands at an even lower speed than that. Several onboard features ensure that the vehicle and crew land safely and in relative comfort.
Four parachutes, deployed 15 minutes before landing, dramatically slowed the vehicle's rate of descent. Two pilot parachutes were the first to be released, and a drogue chute attached to the second one followed immediately after. The drogue, measuring 24 square meters (258 square feet) in area, slowed the rate of descent from 755 feet (230 meters) per second to 262 feet (80 meters) per second.
The main parachute was the last to emerge. It is the largest chute, with a surface area of 10,764 square feet (1,000 square meters). Its harnesses shifted the vehicle's attitude to a 30-degree angle relative to the ground, dissipating heat, and then shifted it again to a straight vertical descent prior to landing.
The main chute slowed the Soyuz to a descent rate of only 24 feet (7.3 meters) per second, which is still too fast for a comfortable landing. One second before touchdown, two sets of three small engines on the bottom of the vehicle fired, slowing the vehicle to soften the landing.

Graphics / Photos

Soyuz MS Soyuz MS
Soyuz MS Kanai in training
Kanai in training crew in training
Soyuz MS-07 integration Soyuz MS-07 rollout
Soyuz MS-07 erection Soyuz MS-07 on the launch pad
Soyuz MS-07 on the launch pad Soyuz MS-07 on the launch pad
Soyuz MS-07 launch Soyuz MS-07 launch
Soyuz MS-07 landing Soyuz MS-07 landing
Soyuz MS-07 recovery  

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Last update on March 29, 2020.

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