Soyuz TMA-11

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Soyuz TMA-11
Mission insignia
Mission statistics
Mission name Soyuz TMA-11
Crew size 3
Launch pad LC-1, Baikonur Cosmodrome
Launch date October 10, 2007
13:22:39 UTC
Landing 19 April 2008
08:30 UTC
Mission duration 191 days, 19 hours, 17 minutes
Orbital inclination 51.6
Crew photo
From left to right: Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Yuri Malenchenko, Peggy Whitson
From left to right: Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Yuri Malenchenko, Peggy Whitson
Related missions
Previous mission Next mission
Soyuz TMA-10 Soyuz TMA-12

Soyuz TMA-11 was a human spaceflight mission using a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft to transport personnel to and from the International Space Station (ISS). The mission began at 13:22 UTC on October 10, 2007 when the spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle. It brought to the station two members of the ISS Expedition 16 crew, as well as Sheikh Muszaphar, the first Malaysian in space. TMA-11 remained at the station as an escape craft, and returned to Earth on 19 April 2008, after it had been replaced by Soyuz TMA-12.

Contents

[edit] Crew

[edit] Launched and landed ISS Expedition 16 crew members:

[edit] Launched:

[edit] Landed:

[edit] Back-up crew

[edit] Crew Notes

Sheikh Muszaphar flew as a guest of the Russian government.[6] Under this program, in exchange for the multi-billion purchase of fighter jets by Malaysia, the Russian Federation bore the cost of training two Malaysians for space travel and for sending one to the ISS.

Sheikh Muszaphar's role aboard the Soyuz is referred to as a Spaceflight Participant in English-language Russian Federal Space Agency and NASA documents and press briefings.[5][7][8][9] This caused some confusion among the public, since the term Spaceflight Participant is also used for space tourists. Speaking to Malaysian media outlets, Alexander Karchava, the Russian ambassador to Malaysia, stated that Sheikh Muszaphar is a "fully-fledged cosmonaut".[10] In an interview with the Malaysian Star newspaper, Robert Gibson, a retired NASA astronaut, shared his opinion that Sheikh Muszaphar is fully qualified as an astronaut, and as such, he should be called one. Gibson also said he regarded Sheikh Muszaphar as a peer.[11]

[edit] Mission highlights

The launch, which took place at at 13:22 UTC (05:22 p.m. Moscow time) on October 10, 2007, "Went off successfully and without a hitch" according to a Russian official.[12] In Malaysia, crowds in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur cheered as they watched the live launch broadcast on television sets in Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square). The giant screen originally set up for this purpose failed to function properly.[13]

The Soyuz TMA-11 docking to the ISS occurred at 14:50 UTC on October 12, 2007.[14]

The return flight of Soyuz TMA-11 was the first time two women flew together on board a Soyuz and it was the first time women outnumbered men aboard a spacecraft since Valentina Tereshkova's solo flight in 1963.

The spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan on 19 April 2008. Similar to Soyuz TMA-1 / Expedition 6 and Soyuz TMA-10 / Expedition 15, the Soyuz performed a ballistic reentry, a reentry steeper than a normal aerodynamic reentry, due to a malfunction and landed 475 km from intended landing point. This is the second such event in a row for Soyuz TMA. Although the crew were recovered with no injuries, the spacecraft's hatch and antenna suffered burn damage during the unusual reentry. Several days after landing, international media widely reported that the Korean Spaceflight Participiant was hospitalized due to severe back pain belived to be the result of the severe stress encountered during reentry. [15]The Russian news agency Interfax reported the ship may have entered the atmosphere hatch first.[16].

Anatoly Perminov, the head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, speculated that the ballistic reentry was connected to a Russian nautical superstition that having more women than men on a craft was unlucky. "This isn't discrimination," he stated when challenged on the point. "I'm just saying that when a majority [of the crew] is female, sometimes certain kinds of unsanctioned behaviour or something else occurs." Perminov said he would try to ensure that the number of women would not exceed the number of men in the future. [17].

It has been reported that the unusual re-entry may have been caused by the failure of the service module to fully separate from the descent module.[18] A similar anomaly occurred during the re-entry of Soyuz 5 in 1969.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Shavkat Rakhmatullayev (2007). Russian rocket launches first Malaysian into space. Reuters. Retrieved on October 10, 2007.
  2. ^ Associated Press (2007). Soyuz Craft Lands Safely in Kazakhstan. ABC News. Retrieved on October 21, 2007.
  3. ^ Cho Jin-seo (2007). Sputnik and Arirang: 50 Years of Space Exploration and Korea. The Korea Times. Retrieved on October 30, 2007.
  4. ^ Associated Press (2007). S. Korean astronaut to fly to space station. MSNBC. Retrieved on October 30, 2007.
  5. ^ a b NASA (2007-07-17). NASA Holds Briefing With First Female Station Commander and Crew. NASA.
  6. ^ William Harwood for CBS News (2007). New crew arrives at station aboard Soyuz capsule. Spaceflight Now. Retrieved on December 20, 2007.
  7. ^ NASA (2007). NASA TV Coverage Set for Space Station Crew Exchange. NASA. Retrieved on October 10, 2007.
  8. ^ MSNBC (2007). Russian tycoon-explorer may go into space. MSNBC. Retrieved on October 10, 2007.
  9. ^ Russian Federal Space Agency (2007). Biography of Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor in Russian Federal Space Agency Website. Russian Federal Space Agency. Retrieved on October 12, 2007.
  10. ^ theStar (2007). Russian envoy confirms that Malaysian is not a ‘mere passenger’. TheStar. Retrieved on October 4, 2007.
  11. ^ TheStar (2007). Malaysian a full-fledged cosmonaut, says ex-astronaut. TheStar. Retrieved on October 11, 2007.
  12. ^ Shavkat Rakhmatullayev (2007-10-10). Russian rocket launches first Malaysian into space. Reuters.
  13. ^ The Star (2007). Angkasawan’s restaurant staff host celebration. The Star. Retrieved on December 20, 2007.
  14. ^ Vladamir Isachenkov (2007). Soyuz Craft Docks With International Space Station. Space.com. Retrieved on December 20, 2007.
  15. ^ [1]
  16. ^ Soyuz crew was in danger during descent
  17. ^ Russian space capsule misses landing by 420 km
  18. ^ Spaceflight Now — Possible Soyuz separation problem under scrutiny

[edit] External links

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