Soyuz TMA-2

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Soyuz TMA-2
sign = "Agat" (Agate)
spacecraft_name = Soyuz TMA #212
insignia =
insignia_size = 150px
stats_ref =
crew_members = 3
launch_pad = Gagarin's Start
launch = April 26, 2003 03:53:52 UTC
landing = October 28, 2003 02:40:20 UTC
49.55° N, 66.57° E, near Arkalyk
duration = 184 days, 22 hours 46 minutes, 28 seconds
orbits = ~3,005
apogee = 242 km [± 42] km
perigee = 200 km [+7, -22] km
period = 1^h 18^m 38^s [± 22.02] ^s
altitude =
inclination = 51.67° [± 0.058] °
distance =
mass = 7136 kg
crew_photo = Soyuz TMA-2 Crew.jpg
crew_caption = Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko (left) and Edward Tsang Lu
previous = Soyuz TMA-1
next = Soyuz TMA-3

Soyuz TMA-2 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle. The spacecraft docked with the ISS 2003-04-28 and undocked 2003-10-27. [cite web |url=http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp7/index.html |title=ISS Expedition 7 Crew |publisher=NASA]

Crew

=Launched and landed ISS "Expedition 7" crew:=

*"Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko (3)" - RUS
*"Edward Tsang Lu (3)" - USA

Landed:

*Pedro Duque (2) - ESA ESP

Mission parameters

*Mass: 7136 kg
*Perigee: 200 km
*Apogee: 250 km
*Inclination: 51.7°
*Period: 88.7 min

Docking with ISS

*Docked to ISS: April 28, 2003, 05:56 UTC (to nadir port of Zarya)
*Undocked from ISS: October 27, 2003, 23:17 UTC (from nadir port of Zarya)

Mission highlights

Soyuz TMA-2 (Russian Союз ТМА-2, "Union TMA-2") is a Russian spaceflight mission to the International Space Station, the second flight for the "TMA" modification of the Soyuz spacecraft, and the 6th Soyuz to fly to the ISS.

The commander is Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko (Russia), and flight engineer Edward Tsang Lu (USA), and after docking with the ISS they exchanged with the resident crew on ISS and became the seventh station crew, called "ISS Expedition Seven". As backup crew Alexander Kaleri and Michael Foale stood by.

Originally the Soyuz missions to the ISS were all planned to be only taxi mission to deliver a new Soyuz spacecraft as the station's lifeboat every six month with a visiting crew, but not for crew exchange. Until the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster the same was planned for Soyuz TMA-2, a visiting crew consisting of commander Gennady Padalka and ESA-astronaut Pedro Duque were to spend about one week at the station and then return with the previous Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft. The third seat might have gone to the Chilean Klaus von Storch as a Chilean space agency (Agencia Chilena del Espacio) cosmonaut, but even before the Columbia disaster it looked like his flight would not happen, and the seat would go to the Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov or to deliver freight to the station.

During his stay on the station, Malenchenko became the first person to get married in space. His bride was in Texas where long distance marriages are legal.

on board. Duque was launched with Soyuz TMA-3 and spent only one week on board of the ISS.

References