Soyuz TMA-15M

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  40312 / 14074A Launch date - time  23 Nov 2014 - 21:01 UT Launch site  Baikonur, LC-31/6 Launch vehicle Soyuz-FG (#xx) Soyuz designation 11F732 nº Mass (kg)   kg Docking date - time  24 Nov 2014 - 02:48:21 UTC Target spacecraft/port  ISS/Rassvet Earth orbit on :    - Perigee / Apogee  414 x 424 km    - Inclination  51.65°    - Period  92.8 min Undocking date - time  16 May 2015 --> 11 June 2015 - 10:20:05 UTC Deorbit burn date - time   Landing date - time  16 May 2015 --> 11 June 2015 - 13:43:58 UTC Landing location  162 km southeast of Dzheskasgan  47°19'51"N, 69°45'19"E Flight Duration (d:hr:min)  199d 16h 42m 43s Nbr orbits  3107 Landing crew  launch crew

Launched Crew

Backup Crew

Soyuz TMA-15M crew

Soyuz TMA-15M backup

Mission Report:

• ISS Expedition 42/43.
• Soyuz TMA-15M was launched at 21:01 UTC Nov 23, 2014 with Anton Shkaplerov, Terry Virts and Samantha Cristoforetti. Following an only six hours solo flight Soyuz TMA-15M docked to ISS Rassvet at 0249 UTC Nov 24.
• After the failed docking of Progress M-27M to the ISS station on April 28, the landing of Soyuz TMA-15M was moved from May 16 to June 11, 2015.
  
  

  Crew TMA-15M in flight.

  
  
• Soyuz TMA-15 undocked on Jun 11, 2015 at 10:20 UTC with Anton Shkaplerov in command and Terry Virts, Samantha Cristoforetti as flight engineers.
• 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.
  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. The spacecraft landed at 13:43 UTC in Kazakhstan.

Soyuz TMA-15M parachute deployed

Soyuz TMA-15M landing.

Soyuz TMA-15M crewmen after landing.

External links:

• Spaceflight 101: Soyuz TMA-15M Mission
  

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Baikonur 24.11.14, registered mail. Note: On 23.11 was the postoffice already closed.

Launch cancel Baikonur 24.11.14, signed by the crew and backup crew. Credit: #402