Soyuz TMA-21

Soyuz TMA-21

Operator	Roskosmos
COSPAR ID	2011-012A
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Soyuz-TMA 11F732
Manufacturer	RKK Energia
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	Aleksandr Samokutyayev Andrei Borisenko Ronald J. Garan
Callsign	Tarkhany
Start of mission
Launch date	April 4, 2011, 22:18:20 (2011-04-04UTC22:18:20Z) UTC[1][2]
Rocket	Soyuz-FG
Launch site	Baikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing date	September 16, 2011, 03:59:39 (2011-09-16UTC03:59:40Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee	201.2 kilometres (125.0 mi)
Apogee	254.69 kilometres (158.26 mi)[3]
Inclination	51.65 degrees
Period	88.76 minutes
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Poisk zenith
From left to right: Garan, Samokutyayev and Borisenko in front their Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft dubbed "Gagarin" Soyuz programme (Manned missions) ← Soyuz TMA-20 Soyuz TMA-02M →

Soyuz TMA-21 ("Gagarin") was a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station (ISS). It transported three members of the Expedition 27 crew to the ISS, and docked at the station on April 6, 2011. TMA-21 is the 109th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, the first of which launched in 1967. The Soyuz remained attached to the space station as a lifeboat, throughout the remainder of Expedition 27 and through the end of Expedition 28, and returned to Earth on September 16, 2011.

The launch of Soyuz TMA-21 was devoted to the 50th anniversary of the first manned space mission, which was conducted by Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961.^[4] The COSPAR International ID of Soyuz TMA-21 is 2011-012A.^[5]

Crew

The Soyuz TMA-21 crew members conduct their ceremonial tour of Red Square on March 11, 2011.

Position[6][7]	Crew Member
Commander	Aleksandr Samokutyayev, RSA Expedition 27 First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1	Andrei Borisenko, RSA Expedition 27 First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2	Ronald J. Garan, NASA Expedition 27 Second and last spaceflight

Backup crew

Position	Crew Member
Commander	Anton Shkaplerov, RSA
Flight Engineer 1	Anatoli Ivanishin, RSA
Flight Engineer 2	Daniel C. Burbank, NASA

Mission insignia

In December 2010, the Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov approved the patch of the Soyuz TMA-21 mission.^[8] The patch was designed based on a drawing by young artist Marciel Santos Kayle, a 12-year-old from French Guiana. According to a Roscosmos news release, Marciel’s sketch was chosen for the crew patch, since it depicts Gagarin and his crew vehicle Vostok. The spacecraft will fly a drawing of Gagarin, and, apart from being called Gagarin, it will also be written on the spacecraft.

Kvant-V equipment glitch

During the launch processing in March 2011, the Technical Management on Human Space System Flight Testing reported an operational glitch of the Kvant-V equipment. The Kvant-V system resides in the Instrumentation Propulsion Module – one of the three modules that make the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft. On March 13, Roscosmos Board held a meeting to discuss the issue and delayed the launch from March 30, 2011.^[9] The glitch was traced back to a faulty part (capacitor) in the equipment. Russian Space Agency Roscosmos established a working group with representatives from RSC-Energia and TSNIImash, the manufacturers and developers of the Soyuz systems. Proposals of the working group were considered during an additional General Designers’ Review led by RSC-Energia president Vitaly Lopota. After analyzing the submitted data by the Review, Roscosmos decided to set April 4 as the new launch date.^[10]

Pre-launch processing

Garan stands in front of the Soyuz booster which bears the name and likeness of Yuri Gagarin.

The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft on the launch pad.

The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft arrived at Baikonur Cosmodrome on February 9, 2011. On the same day, the RSC-Energia technicians, tested the spacecraft's Kurs system.^[11]

Crew training

Roscosmos' Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) hosted a two-day exam session for the prime and backup crews of Soyuz TMA-21 on March 4–5. On March 4, the prime crew of Samokutyayev, Borisenko and Garan were tested through integrated training in the ISS simulator and their backup crew of Shkaplerov, Ivanishin and Burbank were tested in the Soyuz mockup. On the next day, the crews were swapped and examined.^[12] The two groups of crews passed the exams after solving all the tasks for which they were examined.^[13] Anatoly Perminov, the head of Roscosmos hosted the traditional tea-party with Soyuz TMA-21 prime and backup crews on March 11. On March 17, cosmonauts and astronauts left GCTC for Baikonur. On March 19, Roscosmos Board gave its final approval of the crews to go through training at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.^[14]

Launch

A Soyuz-FG rocket lifts the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft to orbit on April 4, 2011.

The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft launched on schedule from the Baikonur Cosmodrome's Gagarin's Start launch pad in Kazakhstan, at 23:18:20 UTC on April 4, 2011. Souyz Commander Samokutyaev was launched from the Soyuz's center seat with flight engineer Borisenko strapped in to his left and NASA astronaut Ronald Garan on his right.

The Soyuz-FG rocket followed a nominal ascent, and successfully inserted the spacecraft into orbit 8 minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff.^[15] In orbit, the spacecraft deployed its two solar panels and communications antennas as planned.

Samokutyayev, carried a small stuffed dog given to him by his daughter. Hanging in front of the crew, live NASA TV launch footage showed that the dog begun to float as the spacecraft soared skywards, an indication of the weightlessness of space.^[16] "Launch was great, and we are in orbit and we are doing great," said Samokutyaev after the launch.^[17] Replying back the Moscow Mission Control said "This is a great anniversary flight, and have a great one".

Docking

Soyuz spacecraft docked to the Poisk Module is seen near to the center of the image.

The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on April 6 at 23:09 UTC.^[18] The docking to the Poisk module occurred as the two spacecraft were orbiting over the Andes Mountains in Chile. Hatches between the Soyuz TMA-21 and the ISS were opened at 2:13 UTC on April 7.^[19] The three Soyuz crew members floated into the ISS. They were welcomed aboard for a crew greeting ceremony and a mandatory safety orientation by Expedition 27 Commander Dmitry Kondratyev and Flight Engineers Catherine Coleman and Paolo Nespoli.

Return to Earth

The Soyuz spacecraft departs the Space Station on September 16, 2011.

The Soyuz TMA-21 crew had been due to come back on September 8 but its return was delayed due to the crash of the Progress M-12M on August 24.

The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station on September 16, 2011 at 00:38 UTC.^[20] Due to an apparent communications malfunction, voice communications from the crew were lost shortly after the deorbit burn, prompting some tense moments on the ground, but otherwise the reentry and descent went perfectly.^[21] There was no immediate explanation for the communications drop out.

Soyuz Commander Aleksandr Samokutyayev and Flight Engineers Andrei Borisenko and Ronald Garan returned to Earth on September 16, 2011 at 03:59 UTC, landing on target in central Kazakhstan.^[22] Russian search and rescue teams, along with NASA flight surgeons and space station program managers, were standing by to help the Soyuz crew. Three Antonov airplanes, 14 Mil Mi-8 helicopters, and seven rescue vehicles took part in the search for the capsule.^[23] Samokutyayev was the first to be extracted out of the Soyuz descent module, followed by Garan and Borisenko. All three appeared relaxed and in good health as they rested in recliners near the descent module. After quick medical examinations inside a nearby erected tent, the crew were flown to Karaganda for an official welcome home ceremony. From there Samokutyaev and Borisenko flew to Star City near Moscow while Garan boarded a NASA jet to fly back to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

• 
  The Soyuz TMA-21 capsule descends toward landing.
• 
  The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft lands in central Kazakhstan.
• 
  The Soyuz crew is pictured shortly after landing.

Call sign

The crew of Soyuz TMA-21 selected Tarkhany as their call sign of respect for Mikhail Lermontov's work.^[24] Lermontov grew up in the village of Tarkhany (in the Penza Governorate), which now preserves his remains. Year 2011 also marks the 170th anniversary of his fatal duel with fellow army officer Nikolai Martynov in 1841.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Soyuz TMA-21.

Soyuz human spaceflight programme
Main topics	Soyuz (rocket family) Soyuz (spacecraft) Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 1/5 Site 31/6 List of Soyuz missions List of Soviet manned space missions List of Russian manned space missions
Current missions	Soyuz MS-02 MS-03
Future missions	2017 Soyuz MS-04 MS-05 MS-06 MS-07 2018 Soyuz MS-08 MS-09 MS-10
Past missions (by spacecraft type)	Soyuz 7K-OK (1966–1970) Kosmos 133† Soyuz 7K-OK No.1† Kosmos 140 Soyuz 1† Kosmos 186 188 212 213 238 Soyuz 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Soyuz 7K-L1 (1967–1970) (Zond lunar programme) Kosmos 146 154† Zond 1967A† 1967B† Zond 4 1968A† 1968B† 5 6 1969A† Zond-M 1† M 2† Zond 7 8 9 10 Soyuz 7K-L1E (1969–1970) Soyuz 7K-L1E No.1† Kosmos 382 Soyuz 7K-LOK (1971–1972) Soyuz 7K-LOK No.1† No.2† Soyuz 7K-OKS (1971) Soyuz 10† 11† Soyuz 7K-T (1972–1981) Kosmos 496 573 Soyuz 12 Kosmos 613 Soyuz 13 Kosmos 656 Soyuz 14 15† 17 18a† 18 20 (uncrewed) 21 23† 24 25† 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 (uncrewed landing) 33† 34 (uncrewed launch) 35 36 37 38 39 40 Soyuz 7K-TM (1974–1976) Kosmos 638 672 Soyuz 16 19 (Apollo–Soyuz Test Project) 22 Soyuz 7K-S (1974–1976) Kosmos 670 772† 869† Soyuz-T (1978–1986) Kosmos 1001† 1074 Soyuz T-1 (uncrewed) T-2 T-3 T-4 T-5 T-6 T-7 T-8† T-9 T-10a† T-10 T-11 T-12 T-13 T-14 T-15 Soyuz-TM (1986–2002) Soyuz TM-1 (uncrewed) TM-2 TM-3 TM-4 TM-5 TM-6 TM-7 TM-8 TM-9 TM-10 TM-11 TM-12 TM-13 TM-14 TM-15 TM-16 TM-17 TM-18 TM-19 TM-20 TM-21 TM-22 TM-23 TM-24 TM-25 TM-26 TM-27 TM-28 TM-29 TM-30 TM-31 TM-32 TM-33 TM-34 Soyuz-TMA (2002–2012) Soyuz TMA-1 TMA-2 TMA-3 TMA-4 TMA-5 TMA-6 TMA-7 TMA-8 TMA-9 TMA-10 TMA-11 TMA-12 TMA-13 TMA-14 TMA-15 TMA-16 TMA-17 TMA-18 TMA-19 TMA-20 TMA-21 TMA-22 Soyuz-TMA-M (2010–2016) Soyuz TMA-01M TMA-02M TMA-03M TMA-04M TMA-05M TMA-06M TMA-07M TMA-08M TMA-09M TMA-10M TMA-11M TMA-12M TMA-13M TMA-14M TMA-15M TMA-16M TMA-17M TMA-18M TMA-19M TMA-20M Soyuz MS (2016–present) Soyuz MS-01
Uncrewed missions are designated with Kosmos numbers; crewed missions get a Soyuz number. Failed missions are denoted with a † symbol. Cancelled missions are in italics.

Human spaceflights to the International Space Station
1998–2004	1998 STS-88 1999 STS-96 2000 STS-101 106 92 Soyuz TM-31 STS-97 2001 STS-98 102 100 Soyuz TM-32 STS-104 105 Soyuz TM-33 STS-108 2002 STS-110 Soyuz TM-34 STS-111 112 Soyuz TMA-1 STS-113 2003 Soyuz TMA-2 TMA-3 2004 Soyuz TMA-4 TMA-5
2005–2009	2005 Soyuz TMA-6 STS-114 Soyuz TMA-7 2006 Soyuz TMA-8 STS-121 115 Soyuz TMA-9 STS-116 2007 Soyuz TMA-10 STS-117 118 Soyuz TMA-11 STS-120 2008 STS-122 123 Soyuz TMA-12 STS-124 Soyuz TMA-13 STS-126 2009 STS-119 Soyuz TMA-14 TMA-15 STS-127 128 Soyuz TMA-16 STS-129 Soyuz TMA-17
2010–2014	2010 STS-130 Soyuz TMA-18 STS-131 132 Soyuz TMA-19 TMA-01M TMA-20 2011 STS-133 Soyuz TMA-21 STS-134 Soyuz TMA-02M STS-135 Soyuz TMA-22 TMA-03M 2012 Soyuz TMA-04M TMA-05M TMA-06M TMA-07M 2013 Soyuz TMA-08M TMA-09M TMA-10M TMA-11M 2014 Soyuz TMA-12M TMA-13M TMA-14M TMA-15M
2015–present	2015 Soyuz TMA-16M TMA-17M TMA-18M TMA-19M 2016 Soyuz TMA-20M MS-01
Current	Soyuz MS-02 MS-03
Planned	2017 Soyuz MS-04 MS-05 MS-06 MS-07 2018 Soyuz MS-08 MS-09 Dragon SpX-DM2 Starliner Boe-CFT Soyuz MS-10
Vehicles	Past Space Shuttle Present Soyuz Future NASA CCDev CST-100 Starliner Crew Dragon Federation