Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. 282

Soyuz TMA-22

Astraeus

Russia

Russia
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Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  14.11.2011
Launch time:  04:14:03.953 UTC
Launch site:  Baikonur
Launch pad:  1
Altitude:  389 - 402 km
Inclination:  51.64°
Docking ISS:  16.11.2011, 05:24:08 UTC
Undocking ISS:  27.04.2012, 08:18:19 UTC
Landing date:  27.04.2012
Landing time:  11:45:35.2 UTC
Landing site:  50°57'20.40" N, 67°09'51.80" E

walkout photo

Crew Soyuz TMA-22

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alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

alternative crew photo

Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position Flight No. Duration Orbits
1  Shkaplerov  Anton Nikolayevich  Commander 1 165d 07h 31m 31s  2580 
2  Ivanishin  Anatoli Alekseyevich  Flight Engineer 1 165d 07h 31m 31s  2580 
3  Burbank  Daniel Christopher  Flight Engineer 3 165d 07h 31m 31s  2580 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Shkaplerov
2  Ivanishin
3  Burbank
Soyuz TMA spacecraft
Landing
1  Shkaplerov
2  Ivanishin
3  Burbank

Backup Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position
1  Padalka  Gennadi Ivanovich  Commander
2  Revin  Sergei Nikolayevich  Flight Engineer
3  Acaba  Joseph Michael  Flight Engineer
Crew Soyuz TMA-22 (backup)
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Hardware

Launch vehicle:  Soyuz-FG (No. 39M134S I15000-038)
Spacecraft:  Soyuz TMA-22 (TMA No. 232)

Flight

Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and landing 80 km northnortheast of Arkalyk. ISS Expedition 29 / 30.

Following a two-day solo flight Soyuz TMA-22 docked to ISS on November 16, 2011. Anton Shkaplerov, Anatoli Ivanishin and Daniel Burbank became the ISS Expedition 29 (together with ISS Expedition 28 crew members Sergei Volkov, Satoshi Furukawa and Michael Fossum).

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 261 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 Soyuz TMA-22 integration
Soyuz TMA-22 rollout Soyuz TMA-22 on launch pad
snow storm at the pad Soyuz TMA-22 launch
Soyuz TMA-22 landing Soyuz TMA-22 recovery
Soyuz TMA-22 recovery  

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Last update on August 13, 2020.

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