Human Spaceflights

International Flight No. 269

Soyuz TMA-17

Pulsar

Russia

Russia
Soyuz TMA-17 patch Patch Soichi Noguchi Soyuz TMA-17

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Soyuz TMA-17 patch

Launch, orbit and landing data

Launch date:  20.12.2009
Launch time:  21:52:00.061 UTC
Launch site:  Baikonur
Launch pad:  1
Altitude:  339 - 351 km
Inclination:  51.65°
Docking ISS:  22.12.2009, 22:48:00 UTC
Undocking ISS:  02.06.2010, 00:04:13 UTC
Landing date:  02.06.2010
Landing time:  03:24:32.2 UTC
Landing site:  47°18'45.66" N, 69°37'58.44" E

walkout photo

Crew Soyuz TMA-17

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Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position Flight No. Duration Orbits
1  Kotov  Oleg Valeriyevich  Commander 2 163d 05h 32m 32s  2574 
2  Noguchi  Soichi  Flight Engineer 2 163d 05h 32m 32s  2574 
3  Creamer  Timothy John "TJ"  Flight Engineer 1 163d 05h 32m 32s  2574 

Crew seating arrangement

Launch
1  Kotov
2  Noguchi
3  Creamer
Soyuz TMA spacecraft
Landing
1  Kotov
2  Noguchi
3  Creamer

Backup Crew

No.   Surname Given names Position
1  Shkaplerov  Anton Nikolayevich  Commander
2  Furukawa  Satoshi  Flight Engineer
3  Wheelock  Douglas Harry  Flight Engineer
Crew Soyuz TMA-17 (backup)

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Patch Soyuz TMA-17 (backup crew)

Source: Roscosmos PAO

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Hardware

Launch vehicle:  Soyuz-FG (No. 22M134S B15000-031)
Spacecraft:  Soyuz TMA-17 (TMA No. 227)

Flight

Launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and landing 154 km southeast of Dzheskasgan. ISS Expedition 22 / 23.

Following a two-day solo flight Soyuz TMA-17 docked to ISS on December 22, 2009. Oleg Kotov, Soichi Noguchi and Timothy Creamer became the ISS Expedition 22 (together with ISS Expedition 21 crew members Jeffrey Williams and Maksim Surayev).

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.

Relocations of Manned Spacecrafts

Spacecraft from Undocking Time UTC to Redocking Time UTC
Soyuz TMA-17 ISS - Zarya 12.05.2010 13:26:12 ISS - Zvezda 12.05.2010 13:53:09
 

Graphics / Photos

Soyuz TMA spacecraft Soyuz TMA landing module
crew in training Soyuz TMA-17 rollout
Soyuz TMA-17 on launch pad Soyuz TMA-17 on launch pad
Soyuz TMA-17 launch Soyuz TMA-17 arrives at the ISS
Soyuz TMA-17 landing Soyuz TMA-17 recovery

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Last update on March 29, 2020.

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