Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. 259

Soyuz TMA-13

Titan

Russia

Russia
Patch Soyuz TMA-13 Patch Richard Garriott

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Patch Soyuz TMA-13 Patch Soyuz TMA-13

Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  12.10.2008
Launch time:  07:01:33.243 UTC
Launch site:  Baikonur
Launch pad:  1
Altitude:  348 - 361 km
Inclination:  51.64°
Docking ISS:  14.10.2008, 08:26:14 UTC
Undocking ISS:  08.04.2009, 03:55:25 UTC
Landing date:  08.04.2009
Landing time:  07:15:09.8 UTC
Landing site:  48°33'56" N, 69°23'51" E

walkout photo

Crew Soyuz TMA-13

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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  Lonchakov  Yuri Valentinovich  Commander 3 178d 00h 13m 38s  2803 
2  Fincke  Edward Michael "Mike"  Flight Engineer 2 178d 00h 13m 38s  2803 
3  Garriott  Richard Allen  Spaceflight Participant 1 11d 20h 35m 17s  188 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Lonchakov
2  Fincke
3  Garriott
Soyuz TMA spacecraft
Landing
1  Lonchakov
2  Fincke
3  Simonyi

Backup Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position
1  Padalka  Gennadi Ivanovich  Commander
2  Barratt  Michael Reed  Flight Engineer
3  Halik  Nikos "Nik"  Spaceflight Participant
Crew Soyuz TMA-13 (backup)

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alternative crew photo

Hardware

Launch vehicle:  Soyuz-FG (No. 36M133S Sh15000-026)
Spacecraft:  Soyuz TMA-13 (TMA No. 223)

Flight

Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and landing 151 km northeast of Dzheskasgan; ISS Expedition 18.

Richard Garriott became another space tourist. He is the son of the US astronaut Owen Garriott. Following a two-day solo flight Soyuz TMA-13 docked to ISS on October 14, 2008. Yuri Lonchakov and Michael Fincke replaced Expedition 17 crew members Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko.

Due to bad weather in the landing area the return was delayed one day.
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 261 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.

Note

Richard Garriott landed on October 24, 2008 at 03:36:49.9 UTC with Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft.

Photos / Graphics

Soyuz TMA spacecraft Soyuz TMA landing module
crew in training Soyuz TMA-13 integration
Soyuz TMA-13 rollout Soyuz TMA-13 on the launch pad
Soyuz TMA-13 launch Arrival of Soyuz TMA-13 at the ISS
traditional in-flight photo Soyuz TMA-13 Soyuz TMA-13 landing
Soyuz TMA-13 landing Soyuz TMA-13 recovery
Soyuz TMA-13 recovery  

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Last update on March 29, 2020.

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