Soyuz TMA-2
| Operator | Rosaviakosmos | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission duration | 184 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, 28 seconds | ||||
| Orbits completed | ~3,005 | ||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||
| Spacecraft type | Soyuz-TMA 11F732 | ||||
| Manufacturer | RKK Energia | ||||
| Launch mass | 7,136 kilograms (15,732 lb) | ||||
| Crew | |||||
| Crew size |
2 up 3 down | ||||
| Members |
Yuri Malenchenko Edward Tsang Lu | ||||
| Landing | Pedro Duque | ||||
| Callsign | Agat (Agate) | ||||
| Start of mission | |||||
| Launch date | April 26, 2003, 03:53:52 UTC | ||||
| Rocket | Soyuz-FG | ||||
| Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 | ||||
| End of mission | |||||
| Landing date | October 28, 2003, 02:40:20 UTC | ||||
| Landing site |
Near Arkalyk 49°55′N 66°57′E / 49.917°N 66.950°E | ||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||
| Reference system | Geocentric | ||||
| Regime | Low Earth | ||||
| Perigee | 200 kilometres (120 mi) | ||||
| Apogee | 242 kilometres (150 mi) | ||||
| Inclination | 51.67 degrees | ||||
| Docking with ISS | |||||
  Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko (left) and Edward Tsang Lu
| |||||
Soyuz TMA-2 was a Soyuz (Russian Союз ТМА-2, Union TMA-2) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle. The spacecraft docked with the ISS 2003-04-28 and undocked 2003-10-27.[1]Soyuz TMA-2 was the second flight for the TMA modification of the Soyuz spacecraft, and the 6th Soyuz to fly to the ISS.
The commander is Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko (Russia), and flight engineer Edward Tsang Lu (USA), and after docking with the ISS they exchanged with the resident crew on ISS and became the seventh station crew, called "ISS Expedition Seven". Alexander Kaleri and Michael Foale were assigned as the backup crew.
Crew
| Position | Launching crew | Landing crew |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Yuri Malenchenko, RKA Expedition 7 Third spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer | Edward Tsang Lu, NASA Expedition 7 Third spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer | None | Pedro Duque, ESA[2] Second spaceflight |
Original Crew
| Position | Crew | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Gennady Padalka, RKA N/A (Taxi Flight) Second spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer | Pedro Duque, ESA N/A (Taxi Flight) Second spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer | Oleg Kotov N/A (Taxi Flight) First spaceflight | |
Mission parameters
- Mass: 7136 kg
- Perigee: 200 km
- Apogee: 250 km
- Inclination: 51.7°
- Period: 88.7 min
Docking with ISS
- Docked to ISS: April 28, 2003, 05:56 UTC (to nadir port of Zarya)
- Undocked from ISS: October 27, 2003, 23:17 UTC (from nadir port of Zarya)
Mission highlights
Originally the Soyuz missions to the ISS were all planned to be only taxi mission to deliver a new Soyuz spacecraft as the station's lifeboat every six month with a visiting crew, but not for crew exchange. Until the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster the same was planned for Soyuz TMA-2, a visiting crew consisting of commander Gennady Padalka and ESA-astronaut Pedro Duque were to spend about one week at the station and then return with the previous Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft. The third seat might have gone to the Chilean Klaus von Storch as a Chilean space agency (Agencia Chilena del Espacio) cosmonaut, but even before the Columbia disaster it looked like his flight would not happen, and the seat would go to the Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov or to deliver freight to the station.
During his stay on the station, Malenchenko became the first person to get married in space. His bride was in Texas where long distance marriages are legal.
The spacecraft returned to Earth on October 28, with both the "Expedition 7" crew as well as Pedro Duque on board. Duque was launched with Soyuz TMA-3 and spent only one week on board of the ISS.
References
- ↑ "ISS Expedition 7 Crew". NASA.
- ↑ "Cervantes mission concludes with Soyuz TMA-2 landing". ESA. October 28, 2003. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
External links
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Coordinates: 49°55′N 66°57′E / 49.917°N 66.950°E