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 UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-FG |
| Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | September 16, 2011, 03:59:39 UTC |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 201.2 kilometres (125.0 mi) |
| Apogee | 254.69 kilometres (158.26 mi) |
| 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-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. The COSPAR International ID of Soyuz TMA-21 is 2011-012A.
In December 2010, the Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov approved the patch of the Soyuz TMA-21 mission. 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.
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. 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.
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