Soyuz TMA-11

Infobox Space mission
mission_name = Soyuz TMA-11
insignia =
insignia_size = 180px
stats_ref =
sign =
crew_members = 3
launch_pad = LC-1, Baikonur Cosmodrome
launch = October 10, 2007
13:22:39 UTC
landing = 19 April, 2008
08:30 UTC
duration = 191 days, 19 hours, 17 minutes
orbits =
apogee =
perigee =
period =
altitude =
inclination = 51.6
distance =
mass =
crew_photo = Sozuztma11crew.jpg
crew_caption = From left to right: Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Yuri Malenchenko, Peggy Whitson
previous = Soyuz TMA-10
next = 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 TMA-11 remained at the station as an escape craft, and returned to Earth on 19 April 2008, after it had been replaced by Soyuz TMA-12.

Crew

Launched and landed ISS "Expedition 16" crew members

* Yuri Malenchenko (4) Soyuz Commander - RUS
* Peggy Whitson (2) Soyuz Flight Engineer - USA

Launched

* Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (1) Spaceflight Participant - MYS (landed in Soyuz TMA-10Cite web|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL1016094020071010|title=Russian rocket launches first Malaysian into space|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=October 10|publisher=Reuters|year=2007|author=Shavkat Rakhmatullayev] Cite web|url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3756666|title=Soyuz Craft Lands Safely in Kazakhstan|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=October 21|publisher=ABC News|year=2007|author=Associated Press] )

Landed

* Yi So-yeon (1) Spaceflight Participant - KOR (launched with Soyuz TMA-12Cite web|url=http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2007/10/129_11545.html|title=Sputnik and Arirang: 50 Years of Space Exploration and Korea|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=October 30|publisher=The Korea Times|year=2007|author=Cho Jin-seo] Cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20603075/|title=S. Korean astronaut to fly to space station|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=October 30|publisher=MSNBC|year=2007|author=Associated Press] )

Back-up crew

* Salizhan Sharipov Commander - RUS
* Michael Fincke Flight Engineer - USA
* Faiz Khaleed Spaceflight Participantcite web | url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/jul/HQ_M07087_ISS_briefing.html | title= NASA Holds Briefing With First Female Station Commander and Crew|author=NASA|publisher=NASA|date=2007-07-17] - MYS
* Ko San Spaceflight Participant - KOR

Crew notes

Sheikh Muszaphar flew as a guest of the Russian government.Cite web|url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp16/071012dock.html|title=New crew arrives at station aboard Soyuz capsule|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=December 20|publisher=Spaceflight Now|year=2007|author=William Harwood for CBS News] 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.Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/sep/HQ_M07122_Exp_15_and_16_crew_exchange_prt.htm|title=NASA TV Coverage Set for Space Station Crew Exchange|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=October 10|publisher=NASA|year=2007|author=NASA] Cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20575522/|title=Russian tycoon-explorer may go into space|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=October 10|publisher=MSNBC|year=2007|author=MSNBC] Cite web|url=http://www.federalspace.ru/Member.asp?screwID=40|title=Biography of Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor in Russian Federal Space Agency Website |accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=October 12|publisher=Russian Federal Space Agency|year=2007|author=Russian Federal Space Agency] 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".Cite web|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/10/4/nation/19072942&sec=nation|title=Russian envoy confirms that Malaysian is not a ‘mere passenger’|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=October 4|publisher=TheStar|year=2007|author=theStar] 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.Cite web|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/10/11/nation/19142225&sec=nation|title=Malaysian a full-fledged cosmonaut, says ex-astronaut|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=October 11|publisher=TheStar|year=2007|author=TheStar]

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. [cite web | url = http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL1016094020071010 | title = Russian rocket launches first Malaysian into space | publisher = Reuters|author=Shavkat Rakhmatullayev|date=2007-10-10] 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.Cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/10/11/nation/19142489&sec=nation|title=Angkasawan’s restaurant staff host celebration|accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=December 20|publisher=The Star|year=2007|author=The Star]

The Soyuz TMA-11 docking to the ISS occurred at 14:50 UTC on October 12, 2007.Cite web|url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/exp8_dock_031020.html|title=Soyuz Craft Docks With International Space Station |accessyear=2007|accessmonthday=December 20|publisher=Space.com|year=2007|author=Vladamir Isachenkov]

Ballistic reentry

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. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24386004/] ] The Russian news agency Interfax reported the ship may have entered the atmosphere hatch first. [ [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jJitDZhZSzTx3L37XQOplAlh8fGQD90725NO4 Soyuz crew was in danger during descent] ]

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. [ [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080419/soyuz_landing_080419/20080419 Russian space capsule misses landing by 420 km] ]

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. [ [http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp16/080422descent.html Spaceflight Now — Possible Soyuz separation problem under scrutiny] ] A similar anomaly occurred during the re-entry of Soyuz 5 in 1969. Later investigation confirmed that the reason for unusual re-entry was failure for the service module to separate normally which was a result of pyro-bolt malfunction. [ [http://en.rian.ru/science/20080524/108268035.html Pyrobolt failure caused Soyuz bumpy re-entry - Roscosmos] ]

ee also

* Malaysian Angkasawan program
* Korean astronaut program

References

External links

* [http://www.angkasawan.com.my National Angkasawan Programme]
*

Soyuz programme
previous=Soyuz TMA-10
next=Soyuz TMA-12