Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. 301

Soyuz TMA-19M

Agat

Russia

Russia
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Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  15.12.2015
Launch time:  11:03:09,328 UTC
Launch site:  Baikonur
Launch pad:  1
Altitude:  403 - 404 km
Inclination:  51.64°
Docking ISS:  15.12.2015, 17:33:26 UTC
Undocking ISS:  18.06.2016, 05:52:33 UTC
Landing date:  18.06.2016
Landing time:  09:15:06,3 UTC
Landing site:  47°24'59.64" N, 69°42'10.44" E

walkout photo

Crew Soyuz TMA-19M

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Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position Flight No. Duration Orbits
1  Malenchenko  Yuri Ivanovich  Commander 6 185d 22h 11m 57s  2893 
2  Kopra  Timothy Lennart  Flight Engineer 2 185d 22h 11m 57s  2893 
3 United Kingdom  Peake  Timothy Nigel  Flight Engineer 1 185d 22h 11m 57s  2893 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Malenchenko
2  Kopra
3  Peake
Soyuz TMA spacecraft
Landing
1  Malenchenko
2  Kopra
3  Peake

Backup Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position
1  Ivanishin  Anatoli Alekseyevich  Commander
2 Japan  Onishi  Takuya  Flight Engineer
3  Rubins  Kathleen Hallisey "Kate"  Flight Engineer
Crew Soyuz TMA-19M backup
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Hardware

Launch vehicle:  Soyuz-FG (No. 29M136S G15000-055)
Spacecraft:  Soyuz TMA-19M (TMA-M No. 719)

Flight

Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. ISS Expedition 46 / 47. Landing 155 km southeast of Dzheskasgan.

Following an only six-hours solo flight Soyuz TMA-19M docked to ISS on December 15, 2015. Yuri Malenchenko, Timothy Kopra and Timothy Peake became the ISS Expedition 46 (together with ISS Expedition 45 crew members Scott Kelly, Mikhail Korniyenko and Sergei Volkov). Yuri Malenchenko manually docked the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft to the International Space Station's Rassvet module after an initial automated attempt was aborted. Yuri Malenchenko took control of the Soyuz, backed it away from the station to assess the Soyuz' systems, then re-approached the complex for the manual docking.

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 277 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 Peake in training
Soyuz TMA-19M integration Soyuz TMA-19M rollout
Soyuz TMA-19M erection Soyuz TMA-19M on the launch pad
Soyuz TMA-19M launch Soyuz TMA-19M launch
Soyuz TMA-19M landing Soyuz TMA-19M landing
Soyuz TMA-19M landing Soyuz TMA-19M recovery
Soyuz TMA-19M recovery Soyuz TMA-19M recovery

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Last update on August 13, 2020.

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