Soyuz TMA-12M

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  39622 / 14013A Launch date - time  25 Mar 2014 - 21:17 UT Launch site  Baikonur, LC1/5 Launch vehicle Soyuz-FG (#xx) Soyuz designation 11F732 nº Mass (kg)   kg Docking date - time  27 Mar 2014 - 23:53 UT Target spacecraft/port  ISS/Poisk Mass ISS after docking  about 409 tonnes Earth orbit on :    - Perigee / Apogee  ~350 km    - Inclination  51.6°    - Period   min Undocking date - time  10 Sep 2014 - 23:01 UT Deorbit burn date - time  11 Sep 2014 - 01:30 UT Landing date - time  11 Sep 2014 - 02:23 UT Landing location  47°18'40,122"N 69°33'20,67"E Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  169d 05h 06m Nbr orbits  2626 Landing crew  launch crew

Soyuz TMA-12M crew

Soyuz TMA-12M back-up

Launched Crew

Backup Crew

Description:

• SOYUZ TMA-12M is a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 39 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-12M is the 121st flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since the first in 1967. The Soyuz is to remain docked to the space station to serve as an emergency escape vehicle until TMA-12M's scheduled return to Earth in September 2014. After a successful launch on 25 March, docking was scheduled to occur on 26 March via the relatively new six-hour duration orbital trajectory. In the event, one of the orbital burns scheduled to refine the trajectory did not occur as planned, due to an attitude control problem in which the spacecraft was incorrectly oriented. The rendezvous phase was subsequently replanned to the formerly-used two-day trajectory. Accordingly, TMA-12M arrived at the ISS on 27 March.

Mission Report:

• ISS Expedition 39.
• On Mar 25, 2014 Soyuz TMA-12M was launched into a 193 x 244 km orbit carrying Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Skvortsov, Oleg Germanovich Artem'ev and Dr.Steve R. Swanson. The third planned rendezvous burn at 2348 UTC was cancelled, apparently due to a software problem, postponing the ship's rendezvous with ISS until Mar 27. The craft was in a 297 x 333 km x 51.7 deg orbit after the problem, and maneuvered to a 414 x 425 km orbit on Mar 26. Docking with Poisk came according to the revised plan, at 2353 UTC Mar 27. Mass of the ISS after docking was about 409 tonnes.
• On Sep 10, 2014 at 2301 UTC Skvortsov, Artemev and Swanson undocked from the Poisk module in Soyuz TMA-12M. The deorbit burn at 0130 UTC Sep 11 lowered the orbit to about -22 x 418 km followed by module separation at 0158 UTC, atmosphere entry at 0201UTC and landing in Kazakhstan at 0223 UTC.
  
  

  Soyuz TMA-12M crew inflight

  Soyuz TMA-12M after landing

  
  

External links:

• Spaceflight 101: Soyuz TMA-12M Mission
  

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Baikonur 26.03.14, registered mail. Note: On 25.03 was the postoffice already closed.

Launch cancel Baikonur 26.03.14, 3 different cancels, signed by the crew. Credit: #402