Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. 317

Soyuz MS-16

Irkut

Russia

Russia
Patch Soyuz MS-16 Patch Soyuz MS-16

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Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  09.04.2020
Launch time:  08:05:06.463 UTC
Launch site:  Baikonur
Launch pad:  31
Altitude:  419 - 440 km
Inclination:  51.64°
Docking ISS:  09.04.2020, 14:13:17 UTC
Undocking ISS:  21.10.2020, 23:32:09 UTC
Landing date:  22.10.2020
Landing time:  02:54:06.8 UTC
Landing site:  47°15´20.7´´ N, 69°42´07.6´´ E

walkout photo

Crew Soyuz MS-16

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alternative crew photo

original crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position Flight No. Duration Orbits
1  Ivanishin  Anatoli Alekseyevich  Commander 3 195d 18h 49m 00s  3136 
2  Vagner  Ivan Viktorovich  Flight Engineer 1 195d 18h 49m 00s  3136 
3  Cassidy  Christopher John "Chris"  Flight Engineer 3 195d 18h 49m 00s  3136 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Ivanishin
2  Vagner
3  Cassidy
Soyuz MS spacecraft
Landing
1  Ivanishin
2  Vagner
3  Cassidy

Backup Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position
1  Ryzhikov  Sergei Nikolaevich  Commander
2  Babkin  Andrei Nikolayevich  Flight Engineer
3  Bowen  Stephen Gerard  Flight Engineer
Crew Soyuz MS-16 backup
Patch Soyuz MS-16 backup crew

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original crew photo

Hardware

Launch vehicle:  Soyuz-2.1a (No. V15000-042)
Spacecraft:  Soyuz MS-16 (MS No. 745)

Flight

Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. ISS Expedition 62 / 63. Landing 161 km southeast of Dzheskasgan.

Due to medical reasons former prime crew members Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin were replaced by the backup cosmonauts on February 19, 2020.

Following an only six hours solo flight Soyuz MS-16 docked to ISS on April 09, 2020. Anatoli Ivanishin, Ivan Vagner and Christopher Cassidy became the ISS Expedition 62 (together with ISS Expedition 61 crew members Oleg Skripochka, Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan). With the arrival Expedition 62 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 320 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.

Photos / Graphics

Soyuz MS Soyuz MS
Soyuz MS crew in training
crew in training crew in training
Soyuz MS-16 rollout Soyuz MS-16 rollout
Soyuz MS-16 erection Soyuz MS-16 erection
Soyuz MS-16 on the launch pad Soyuz MS-16 launch
Soyuz MS-16 launch Soyuz MS-16 landing
Soyuz MS-16 landing Soyuz MS-16 landing
Soyuz MS-16 recovery Soyuz MS-16 recovery
Soyuz MS-16 recovery  

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Last update on November 22, 2020.

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