Soyuz TMA-3

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  28052 / 03047A Launch date - time  18 Oct 2003 - 05:38:03 UT Launch site  Baikonur, LC1 Launch vehicle  Soyuz-FG (#007) Soyuz designation  7K-STMA nº213 (11F732) Mass (kg)   Flight Crew  Kaleri, Aleksandr (CDR) Duque, Pedro (FE1) Foale, Michael (FE2) Call Sign   Backup crew

Docking date - time  20 Oct 2003 - 07:15:58 UT Target spacecraft/port  ISS/Pirs Earth orbit on :    - Perigee x Apogee  380 x 410 km    - Inclination  51,67°    - Period   min Undocking date  29 Apr 2004 - 20:52 UT nadir port of ISS/Pirs Landing date - time  30 Apr 2004 - 00:11:15 UT Landing location  50°N, 67°E Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  194d 18h 34m Nbr orbits  3040 Landing crew (Exp.8 & VC-6):  Kaleri, Foale, Kuipers  (crew TMA-3 and TMA-4)

Launched crew (Exp.8 & VC-5):

Flight

• The Soyuz TMA-3 spaceship was launched on Oct 18, 2003 at 0538 UTC on a Soyuz-FG rocket from Baykonur, carrying the Expedition 8 crew of Mike Foale and Aleksandr Kaleri and the EP-5 (Cervantes) mission crewmember Pedro Duque.
• Once they relieve the Ex-7 crew on the station, the roles switch and Foale becomes ISS Commander with Kaleri being ISS Flight Engineer. Duque is a 'visiting crew' member, he constitutes the 5th Soyuz visiting crew, will carry out a set of European Space Agency and Spanish experiments dubbed 'Cervantes', and will return to Earth a week later with the Ex-7 crew of Malenchenko and Lu aboard Soyuz TMA-2.
• Duque landed on 28 Oct 2003 at 02:40 UT with Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft.
  Andre Kuipers (Soyuz-TMA 4) landed with Kaleri and Foale on Soyuz TMA-3
• Soyuz TMA-3 docked with the Pirs module at 0716 UTC on Oct 20, 2003.
• The Soyuz TMA-3 spaceship landed in Kazakhstan on Apr 30, returning the Expedition 8 and ESA DELTA crews to Earth. Mike Foale, Aleksandr Kaleri and Andre Kuipers entered TMA-3 from the Station's Pirs module and closed the hatches at 17:47 UT on 29 Apr 2004. They undocked from Pirs at 20:52 UT and fired their deorbit engines at 23:20 UT. The 115 m/s burn near apogee lasted 4min 23s and lowered the orbit from 354 x 371 km to about -32 x 369 km. The orbital and propulsion modules were jettisoned at 23:45 UT, and the descent module landed near 50N 67E at 0012 UTC on 30 Apr 2004.

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancels Baikonur,send registrated. 4 different cancels.