Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. 295

Soyuz TMA-13M

Cepheus

Russia

Russia
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Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  28.05.2014
Launch time:  19:57:40.981 UTC
Launch site:  Baikonur
Launch pad:  1
Altitude:  412 - 417 km
Inclination:  51.65°
Docking ISS:  29.05.2014, 01:44:02 UTC
Undocking ISS:  10.11.2014, 00:31:29 UTC
Landing date:  10.11.2014
Landing time:  03:58:49.8 UTC
Landing site:  51°03'18.12" N, 67°18'13.8" E

walkout photo

Crew Soyuz TMA-13M

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Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position Flight No. Duration Orbits
1  Surayev  Maksim Viktorovich  Commander 2 165d 08h 01m 09s  2566 
2  Wiseman  Gregory Reid  Flight Engineer 1 165d 08h 01m 09s  2566 
3  Gerst  Alexander  Flight Engineer 1 165d 08h 01m 09s  2566 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Surayev
2  Wiseman
3  Gerst
Soyuz TMA spacecraft
Landing
1  Surayev
2  Wiseman
3  Gerst

Backup Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position
1  Shkaplerov  Anton Nikolayevich  Commander
2  Cristoforetti  Samantha  Flight Engineer
3  Virts  Terry Wayne, Jr.  Flight Engineer
Crew Soyuz TMA-13M backup
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Hardware

Launch vehicle:  Soyuz-FG (No. 6M136S T15000-049)
Spacecraft:  Soyuz TMA-13M (TMA-M No. 713)

Flight

Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. ISS Expedition 40 / 41. Landing 94 km northeast of Arkalyk.

Following an only six-hours solo flight Soyuz TMA-13M docked to ISS on May 29, 2014. Maksim Surayev, Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst became the ISS Expedition 40 (together with ISS Expedition 39 crew members Aleksandr Skvortsov, Oleg Artemyev and Steven Swanson).

The Soyuz spacecraft is composed of three elements attached end-to-end - the Orbital Module, the Descent Module and the Instrumentation/Propulsion Module. The crew occupied the central element, the Descent Module. The other two modules are jettisoned prior to re-entry. They burn up in the atmosphere, so only the Descent Module returned to Earth.
The deorbit burn lasted 281 seconds. Having shed two-thirds of its mass, the Soyuz reached Entry Interface - a point 400,000 feet (121.9 kilometers) above the Earth, where friction due to the thickening atmosphere began to heat its outer surfaces. With only 23 minutes left before it lands on the grassy plains of central Asia, attention in the module turned to slowing its rate of descent.
Eight minutes later, the spacecraft was streaking through the sky at a rate of 755 feet (230 meters) per second. Before it touched down, its speed slowed to only 5 feet (1.5 meter) per second, and it lands at an even lower speed than that. Several onboard features ensure that the vehicle and crew land safely and in relative comfort.
Four parachutes, deployed 15 minutes before landing, dramatically slowed the vehicle's rate of descent. Two pilot parachutes were the first to be released, and a drogue chute attached to the second one followed immediately after. The drogue, measuring 24 square meters (258 square feet) in area, slowed the rate of descent from 755 feet (230 meters) per second to 262 feet (80 meters) per second.
The main parachute was the last to emerge. It is the largest chute, with a surface area of 10,764 square feet (1,000 square meters). Its harnesses shifted the vehicle's attitude to a 30-degree angle relative to the ground, dissipating heat, and then shifted it again to a straight vertical descent prior to landing.
The main chute slowed the Soyuz to a descent rate of only 24 feet (7.3 meters) per second, which is still too fast for a comfortable landing. One second before touchdown, two sets of three small engines on the bottom of the vehicle fired, slowing the vehicle to soften the landing.

Graphics / Photos

Soyuz TMA spacecraft Soyuz TMA landing module
crew in training crew in training
Soyuz TMA-13M integration Soyuz TMA-13M rollout
Soyuz TMA-13M erection Soyuz TMA-13M on the launch pad
Soyuz TMA-13M on the launch pad Soyuz TMA-13M launch
Crew Soyuz TMA-13M inflight Soyuz TMA-13M recovery

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Last update on March 29, 2020.

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