Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. 296

Soyuz TMA-14M

Tarkhaniy

Russia

Russia
Patch Soyuz TMA-14M Patch Soyuz TMA-14M

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Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  25.09.2014
Launch time:  20:24:59.939 UTC
Launch site:  Baikonur
Launch pad:  1
Altitude:  409 - 418 km
Inclination:  51.65°
Docking ISS:  26.09.2014, 02:11:29 UTC
Undocking ISS:  11.03.2015, 22:44:02 UTC
Landing date:  12.03.2015
Landing time:  02:07:40.1 UTC
Landing site:  47°21'07.98" N, 69°32'04.02" E

walkout photo

Crew Soyuz TMA-14M

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Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position Flight No. Duration Orbits
1  Samokutyayev  Aleksandr Mikhailovich  Commander 2 167d 05h 42m 40s  2599 
2  Serova  Yelena Olegovna  Flight Engineer 1 167d 05h 42m 40s  2599 
3  Wilmore  Barry Eugene "Butch"  Flight Engineer 2 167d 05h 42m 40s  2599 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Samokutyayev
2  Serova
3  Wilmore
Soyuz TMA spacecraft
Landing
1  Samokutyayev
2  Serova
3  Wilmore

Backup Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position
1  Padalka  Gennadi Ivanovich  Commander
2  Korniyenko  Mikhail Borisovich  Flight Engineer
3  Kelly  Scott Joseph  Flight Engineer
Crew Crew Soyuz TMA-14M backup
Patch Soyuz TMA-14M backup

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Hardware

Launch vehicle:  Soyuz-FG (No. 12M136S T15000-050)
Spacecraft:  Soyuz TMA-14M (TMA-M No. 714)

Flight

Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. ISS Expedition 41 / 42. Landing 145 km southeast of Dzheskasgan.

Following an only six-hours solo flight Soyuz TMA-14M docked to ISS on September 26, 2014. Aleksandr Samokutyayev, Yelena Serova and Barry Wilmore became the ISS Expedition 41 (together with ISS Expedition 40 crew members Maksim Surayev, Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst).

Only one of the Soyuz's two solar panels unfolded after the ship reached orbit. A little more than a half hour after docking, perhaps helped along by the slight jarring of impact, the stuck left-side solar array suddenly popped free.

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 281 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-14M integration
Soyuz TMA-14M rollout Soyuz TMA-14M rollout
Soyuz TMA-14 erection Soyuz TMA-14M on the launch pad
Soyuz TMA-14M launch Soyuz TMA-14M landing
Soyuz TMA-14M landing Soyuz TMA-14M recovery
Soyuz TMA-14M recovery  

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Last update on March 29, 2020.

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