Soyuz TMA-9 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Soyuz TMA-9

Operator	Roskosmos
Mission duration	215 days, 8 hours, 22 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Soyuz-TMA 11F732
Manufacturer	RKK Energia
Launch mass	7,270 kilograms (16,030 lb)
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	Mikhail Tyurin Michael López-Alegría
Launching	Anousheh Ansari
Landing	Charles Simonyi
Callsign	Vostok
Start of mission
Launch date	18 September 2006, 04:08 (2006-09-18UTC04:08Z) UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-FG
Launch site	Baikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing date	21 April 2007, 12:31 (2007-04-21UTC12:32Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee	200 kilometres (120 mi)
Apogee	242 kilometres (150 mi)
Inclination	51.67 degrees
Period	88.64 minutes
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Zvezda aft
Docking date	20 September 2006 05:21 UTC
Undocking date	10 October 2006 19:14 UTC
Time docked	20d 13h 53m
Docking with ISS (Relocation)
Docking port	Zarya nadir
Docking date	10 October 2006 19:34 UTC
Undocking date	29 March 2007 23:30 UTC
Time docked	170d 3h 56m
Docking with ISS (Relocation)
Docking port	Zvezda aft
Docking date	29 March 2007 23:54 UTC
Undocking date	21 April 2007 09:11 UTC
Time docked	22d 9h 17m
Crew of Soyuz TMA-9: (l-r) López-Alegría, Ansari, Tyurin Soyuz programme (Crewed missions) ← Soyuz TMA-8 Soyuz TMA-10 →

Soyuz TMA-9 launch.

Soyuz TMA-9 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle. It was a human spaceflight mission transporting personnel to and from the ISS. It launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 18 September 2006 at 08:09 MSD (04:09 UTC), docked with the ISS at 09:21 MSD (05:21 UTC) on 20 September, and returned to Earth on 21 April 2007. Soyuz TMA-9 transported two-thirds of ISS Expedition 14 to the space station along with one "spaceflight participant" who performed several experiments on behalf of the European Space Agency.

Crew

Position	Launching crew	Landing crew
Commander	Mikhail Tyurin, RKA Expedition 14 Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer	Michael López-Alegría, NASA Expedition 14 Fourth spaceflight
Spaceflight Participant	/ Anousheh Ansari, SA Only spaceflight Tourist	/ Charles Simonyi, SA First spaceflight Tourist

Docking with ISS

The docked Expedition 13 / Soyuz TMA-9 (foreground) and Progress 22 resupply vehicle are featured in this image photographed by an STS-116 crewmember from a window on the International Space Station while Space Shuttle Discovery was docked with the station in December 2006. The blackness of space and Earth's horizon provide the backdrop for the scene.

• Docked to ISS: 20 September 2006, 05:21 UTC (to aft port of Zvezda)
• Undocking from ISS: 10 October 2006 19:14 UTC (from aft port of Zvezda)
• Docking to ISS: 10 October 2006 19:34 UTC (to nadir port of Zarya)
• Undocking from ISS: 29 March 2007 23:30 UTC (from nadir port of Zarya)
• Docking to ISS: 29 March 2007 23:54 UTC (to aft port of Zvezda)
• Undocking from ISS: 21 April 2007 09:11 UTC (from aft port of Zvezda)

Mission highlights

Soyuz TMA-9, known within the International Space Station program as ISS Soyuz 13, was the 32nd crewed flight to the ISS. It is of note because for three days, from 18–21 September 2006, it marked the first time since before the Columbia accident that twelve humans have been in space simultaneously; three aboard the International Space Station (Expedition 13), three aboard Soyuz TMA-9, and six aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis, flying mission STS-115.

The capsule successfully launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz-FG rocket at 09:08 MDS (04:08 UTC) on Monday 18 September 2006. It successfully docked with the ISS on Wednesday 20 September to begin a six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory.

Anousheh Ansari, the Spaceflight Participant launched by TMA-9, has returned to Earth safely alongside Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Jeffrey Williams of the Expedition 13 crew aboard Soyuz TMA-8 on 29 September 2006 at 01:13 UTC. Undocking from the ISS took place at 21:53 UTC on 28 September. López-Alegría and Tyurin undocked from ISS on 21 April 2007, 09:11 UTC, and landed at 12:31:30 UTC, after a seven-month stay on the station.

When the capsule landed after 215 days in space, exceeding the 210-day warranty for Soyuz TMA spacecraft, it concluded the longest flight by a Soyuz spacecraft.

See also

In Spanish: Soyuz TMA-9 para niños