Soyuz TMA-9 facts for kids
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| 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 UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-FG |
| Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 21 April 2007, 12:31 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) |
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| 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) |
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| 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
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Soyuz TMA-9 was a Soyuz space mission. It carried astronauts and a space tourist to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 18, 2006. It docked with the ISS two days later, on September 20, 2006. The spacecraft returned to Earth on April 21, 2007.
Soyuz TMA-9 took two members of the Expedition 14 crew to the space station. It also carried a "spaceflight participant," who is sometimes called a space tourist. This person did several science experiments for the European Space Agency.
Crew Members
| Position | Launching crew | Landing crew |
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| Commander |  Mikhail Tyurin, RKAExpedition 14 Second spaceflight |
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| Flight Engineer |  Michael López-Alegría, NASAExpedition 14 Fourth spaceflight |
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| Spaceflight Participant |  / Anousheh Ansari, SAOnly spaceflight Tourist |
 / Charles Simonyi, SAFirst spaceflight Tourist |
The Soyuz TMA-9 mission had a crew of three people. Mikhail Tyurin from Russia was the commander. Michael López-Alegría from the USA was the flight engineer.
The third person on board was Anousheh Ansari. She was a spaceflight participant, meaning she paid to go to space. She was the first Iranian-American woman and the first female space tourist. She returned to Earth with the Expedition 13 crew.
Later, Charles Simonyi became the spaceflight participant who landed with the Soyuz TMA-9. He was also a space tourist.
Docking with the ISS
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The Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft connected with the International Space Station multiple times. This is called docking.
- First Docking: September 20, 2006, at 05:21 UTC. It connected to the aft port of the Zvezda module.
- First Undocking: October 10, 2006, at 19:14 UTC. It left the aft port of Zvezda.
- Second Docking (Relocation): October 10, 2006, at 19:34 UTC. It moved and docked to the nadir port of the Zarya module.
- Second Undocking (Relocation): March 29, 2007, at 23:30 UTC. It left the nadir port of Zarya.
- Third Docking (Relocation): March 29, 2007, at 23:54 UTC. It moved back to the aft port of Zvezda.
- Final Undocking: April 21, 2007, at 09:11 UTC. It left the aft port of Zvezda to return to Earth.
Mission Highlights
Soyuz TMA-9 was also known as ISS Soyuz 13 in the International Space Station program. This mission was special because, for a few days in September 2006, twelve people were in space at the same time. This had not happened since the Columbia accident.
- Three astronauts were on the International Space Station (part of Expedition 13).
- Three astronauts were on Soyuz TMA-9.
- Six astronauts were on Space Shuttle Atlantis (flying mission STS-115).
The Soyuz TMA-9 capsule launched successfully from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It used a Soyuz-FG rocket. It docked with the ISS on September 20, 2006. The crew then began a six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory.
Anousheh Ansari, the spaceflight participant, returned to Earth safely. She landed with Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Jeffrey Williams from the Expedition 13 crew. They used the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft on September 29, 2006.
The main crew members, López-Alegría and Tyurin, stayed on the station for about seven months. They undocked from the ISS on April 21, 2007. They landed safely on Earth later that day.
This mission set a record. The Soyuz TMA-9 capsule spent 215 days in space. This was longer than the usual 210-day limit for Soyuz TMA spacecraft. It became the longest flight ever for a Soyuz spacecraft.
See also
In Spanish: Soyuz TMA-9 para niños
