Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. 292

Soyuz TMA-10M

Pulsar

Russia

Russia
Patch Soyuz TMA-10M Patch Soyuz TMA-10M

hi res version (454 KB)

Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  25.09.2013
Launch time:  20:58:50.41 UTC
Launch site:  Baikonur
Launch pad:  1
Altitude:  414 - 419 km
Inclination:  51.65°
Docking ISS:  26.09.2013, 02:45:22 UTC
Undocking ISS:  11.03.2014, 00:02:32 UTC
Landing date:  11.03.2014
Landing time:  03:23:48.4 UTC
Landing site:  47°20'22.215" N, 69°38'12.902" E

walkout photo

Crew Soyuz TMA-10M

hi res version (674 KB)

alternative crew photo

alternative 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  Kotov  Oleg Valeriyevich  Commander 3 166d 06h 24m 58s  2580 
2  Ryazansky  Sergei Nikolayevich  Flight Engineer 1 166d 06h 24m 58s  2580 
3  Hopkins  Michael Scott  Flight Engineer 1 166d 06h 24m 58s  2580 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Kotov
2  Ryazansky
3  Hopkins
Soyuz TMA spacecraft
Landing
1  Kotov
2  Ryazansky
3  Hopkins

Backup Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position
1  Skvortsov  Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Jr.  Commander
2  Artemyev  Oleg Germanovich  Flight Engineer
3  Swanson  Steven Ray "Swanny"  Flight Engineer
Crew Soyuz TMA-10M backup
Patch Soyuz TMA-10M backup

hi res version (539 KB)

alternative crew photo

hi res version (492 KB)

Hardware

Launch vehicle:  Soyuz-FG (No. 13M135S Ye15000-046)
Spacecraft:  Soyuz TMA-10M (TMA-M No. 710)

Flight

Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Landing 153 km SE of Dzheskasgan. ISS Expedition 37 / 38.

Following an only six-hours solo flight Soyuz TMA-10M docked to ISS on September 26, 2013. Oleg Kotov, Sergei Ryazansky and Michael Hopkins became the ISS Expedition 37 (together with ISS Expedition 36 crew members Fyodor Yurchikhin, Luca Parmitano and Karen Nyberg).

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 about 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 TMA spacecraft Soyuz TMA landing module
crew in training Soyuz TMA-10M integration
Soyuz TMA-10M rollout Soyuz TMA-10M erection
Soyuz TMA-10M on the launch pad Soyuz TMA-10M launch
Crew Soyuz TMA-10M inflight Soyuz TMA-10M recovery

©      

Last update on March 29, 2020.

SPACEFACTS patch