kids encyclopedia robot

Soyuz TMA-15M facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Soyuz TMA-15M
ISS-44 Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft undocks.jpg
Soyuz TMA-15M undocks from the ISS, 11 June 2015.
Mission type ISS crew transport
Operator Roskosmos
Mission duration 199d 16h 42m 46s
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft Soyuz 11F732A47 No.715
Spacecraft type Soyuz-TMA 11F747
Manufacturer RKK Energia
Crew
Crew size 3
Members Anton Shkaplerov
Samantha Cristoforetti
Terry W. Virts, Jr.
Callsign Астрей ("Astraeus")
Start of mission
Launch date 23 November 2014
21:00:14 UTC
Rocket Soyuz-FG
Launch site Baikonur 31/6
End of mission
Landing date 11 June 2015
13:44 UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Docking with ISS
Docking port Rassvet nadir
Docking date 24 November 2014
02:49 UTC
Undocking date 11 June 2015
10:20 UTC
Time docked 199 days, 7 hours, 31 minutes
Soyuz-TMA-15M-Mission-Patch.png Soyuz TMA-15M crew during a routine operations training session at JSC.jpg
(l-r) Shkaplerov, Cristoforetti and Virts
Soyuz programme
(Crewed missions)
Soyuz TMA-16M →

Soyuz TMA-15M was a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 42 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-15M was the 124th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, the first flight launching in 1967. The Soyuz remained docked to the space station for the Expedition 43 increment, serving as an emergency escape vehicle until departing and returning to Earth as scheduled in June 2015.

Crew

Position Crew Member
Commander Russia Anton Shkaplerov, RSA
Expedition 42
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1 Italy Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA
Expedition 42
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2 United States Terry W. Virts, Jr., NASA
Expedition 42
Second and last spaceflight

Backup crew

Position Crew Member
Commander Russia Oleg Kononenko, RSA
Flight Engineer 1 Japan Kimiya Yui, JAXA
Flight Engineer 2 United States Kjell N. Lindgren, NASA

Mission highlights

Launch, rendezvous and docking

Soyuz TMA-15M launched successfully aboard a Soyuz-FG rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 21:01 UTC on Sunday, 23 November 2014. The spacecraft reached low Earth orbit approximately nine minutes after lift-off. After executing rendezvous maneuvers, the Soyuz docked with the International Space Station at 02:49 UTC on 24 November, with hatch opening occurring at 05:00 UTC.

Soyuz TMA-15M was scheduled to remain docked to the ISS—serving as an emergency escape vehicle, planned to be on-board until May 2015. The landing was delayed until June 2015, when it was set to depart and return Shkaplerov, Cristoforetti and Virts to Earth.

Undocking and return to Earth

Soyuz TMA-15M undocked from the ISS at 10:20 UTC on 11 June 2015, containing Shkaplerov, Cristoforetti, and Virts. Following a deorbit burn, the Soyuz spacecraft's descent module reentered the Earth's atmosphere. The crew landed safely in Kazakhstan at 13:44 UTC on 11 June, just over three hours after departing the ISS.

Gallery

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Soyuz TMA-15M para niños

kids search engine
Soyuz TMA-15M Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.