Soyuz TMA-8
OperatorRoscosmos
COSPAR ID2006-009A
SATCAT no.28996Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration182 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeSoyuz-TMA 11F732
ManufacturerRKK Energia
Launch mass7,270 kilograms (16,030 lb)
Crew
Crew size3
MembersPavel Vinogradov
Jeffrey Williams
LaunchingMarcos Pontes
LandingAnousheh Ansari
CallsignCarat
Start of mission
Launch dateMarch 30, 2006, 02:30 (2006-03-30UTC02:30Z) UTC
RocketSoyuz-FG
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing dateSeptember 29, 2006, 01:13 (2006-09-29UTC01:14Z) UTC
Landing siteKazakhstan
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude200 kilometres (120 mi)
Apogee altitude241 kilometres (150 mi)
Inclination51.67 degrees
Period88.64 minutes
Docking with ISS
Docking portZarya nadir
Docking date1 April 2006
04:19 UTC
Undocking date28 September 2006
21:53 UTC
Time docked180d 17h 34m

From top to bottom: Jeffrey Williams, Marcos Pontes and Pavel Vinogradov.
Soyuz programme
(Crewed missions)
 

Soyuz TMA-8 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle.

Crew

The crew at the Baikonur Cosmodrome

Soyuz TMA-8 was a transport mission for portions of the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 13 crew. The flight delivered ISS Commander Pavel Vinogradov and ISS Flight Engineer Jeffrey Williams to the station to replace Expedition 12 crew members. Flight Engineer Marcos Pontes joined the TMA-8 crew for the ascent and docking with ISS, spent approximately seven days aboard the ISS conducting experiments as part of the Missão Centenário, then returned to Earth with the outgoing members of Expedition 12 aboard Soyuz TMA-7. Vinogradov and Williams were joined on their return trip to Earth by Spaceflight Participant Anousheh Ansari who launched aboard Soyuz TMA-9 and spent approximately eight days aboard ISS conducting experiments for the European Space Agency.

Position Launching crew Landing crew
Commander Russia Pavel Vinogradov, RKA[1]
Expedition 13
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer United States Jeffrey Williams, NASA[1]
Expedition 13
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer / Spaceflight Participant Brazil Marcos Pontes, AEB[1]
Only spaceflight		 Iran/United States Anousheh Ansari, SA
Only spaceflight
Tourist

Back-up crew

Position Crew
Commander Russia Fyodor Yurchikhin, RKA[2]
Flight Engineer United States Michael Fincke, NASA[2]
Flight Engineer Russia Sergei Volkov, RKA[2]

Docking with ISS

  • Docked to ISS: April 1, 2006, 04:19 UTC (to nadir port of Zarya)[3]
  • Undocked from ISS: September 28, 2006, 21:53 UTC (from nadir port of Zarya)

Mission highlights

The Soyuz TMA-8 launch on 30 March 2006.
Jeffrey Williams inside the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft

29th crewed flight to ISS (Flight 12S)

Soyuz TMA-8 is a Soyuz spacecraft which was launched on March 30, 2006 by a Soyuz-FG rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Near the end of second stage burn, a communications blackout occurred at Moscow Mission Control. A satellite link was lost, but was restored about 10 minutes later. The crew was safe throughout the loss of communications.

The spacecraft carried two members of the Expedition 13 crew to the International Space Station, together with Marcos Pontes, the first Brazilian in space. The Brazilian government paid Russia approximately $20 million (USD) for Pontes' flight.[4] They replaced the Expedition 12 crew, Commander William McArthur and Valery Ivanovich Tokarev. Together with the Expedition 12 crew, Marcos Pontes returned to Earth on board Soyuz TMA-7.

Soyuz TMA-8 returned to Earth, together with Expedition 13, the spaceflight participant launched with Soyuz TMA-9, Anousheh Ansari.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 NASA (2006-03-29). "New Station Crew Launches From Baikonur". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
  2. 1 2 3 NASA (2006-01-05). "NASA Announces Next International Space Station Crew". NASA. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
  3. ↑ NASA (2006-03-31). "New Crew Docks With Space Station". NASA. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
  4. ↑ Delphine Thouvenot (2005). "Brazil's President In Moscow Signs Deal For Joint Space Mission". Space Daily. Retrieved October 30, 2007.
  5. ↑ NASA (2005-09-28). "Space Station Crew Back on Earth". NASA. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
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