Soyuz TMA-12M

Soyuz TMA-12M
	Soyuz TMA-12M approaches the ISS, 27 March 2014.
Mission type	ISS crew transport
Operator	Roscosmos
COSPAR ID	2014-013A
SATCAT no.	39622
Mission duration	169 days, 5 hours, 6 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Soyuz 11F732A47 No.712
Spacecraft type	Soyuz-TMA 11F747
Manufacturer	Energia
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	Aleksandr Skvortsov ; Oleg Artemyev ; Steven R. Swanson
Callsign	Cliff
Start of mission
Launch date	25 March 2014, 21:17:23 UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-FG
Launch site	Baikonur 1/5, Kazakhstan
End of mission
Landing date	11 September 2014, 02:23 UTC
Landing site	Kazakh Steppe, Kazakhstan
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Poisk zenith
Docking date	27 March 2014; 23:53 UTC
Undocking date	10 September 2014; 23:01 UTC
Time docked	166 days, 23 hours, 8 minutes
	; (l-r) Swanson, Skvortsov and Artemyev Soyuz programme ; (Crewed missions) ← Soyuz TMA-11M Soyuz TMA-13M →

Last updated August 24, 2024

Soyuz TMA-12M was a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 39 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-12M was the 121st flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since the first in 1967 and the 38th Soyuz mission to the ISS.

After a successful launch on 25 March 2014, 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.^[4] The rendezvous phase was subsequently replanned to the formerly-used two-day trajectory. Accordingly, TMA-12M arrived at the ISS on 27 March.^[5]^[6] The Soyuz remained docked to the ISS to serve as an emergency escape vehicle until undocking and landing as scheduled on 11 September 2014.

Crew


Position ^[7]	Crew Member
Commander	Aleksandr Skvortsov, Roscosmos Expedition 39 Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1	Oleg Artemyev, Roscosmos Expedition 39 First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2	Steven R. Swanson, NASA Expedition 39 Third and last spaceflight

Backup crew


Position ^[8]	Crew Member
Commander	Aleksandr Samokutyayev, Roscosmos
Flight Engineer 1	Yelena Serova, Roscosmos
Flight Engineer 2	Barry E. Wilmore, NASA

Mission highlights

Launch

Soyuz TMA-12M successfully launched aboard a Soyuz-FG rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 21:17 UTC on Tuesday, 25 March 2014 (3:17 AM Wednesday 26 March local time). Approximately nine minutes later, the spacecraft reached low Earth orbit.^[9]^[10]

Because of the nighttime launch and the fact that the International Space Station was orbiting over Baikonur at the time of lift-off, the launch of TMA-12M was visible from the ISS and NASA astronaut Richard Mastracchio was able to take a photograph of the view (see below in gallery).^[5]

Rendezvous and docking

Originally, TMA-12M was scheduled to dock with the International Space Station's Poisk module at 03:04 UTC on 26 March 2014, with hatch opening scheduled for 04:45 UTC. The spacecraft was not able to perform the third course-correction successfully, however, and docking was rescheduled for Thursday, 27 March at 23:58 UTC at the earliest. The approach and docking phase of the mission was reverted to the previous two-day profile used in Soyuz flights before Soyuz TMA-08M, leaving the possibility of updating the mission profile after the nature of the issue was fully known. Initially, flight controllers suspected it was an issue with the attitude (orientation) control system.^[5]^[6] According to flight controllers, the crew was not in any danger and ample supplies were on board the Soyuz for the modified flight profile.^[11]

On 26 March, the first two maneuvers of the revised 34-orbit rendezvous plan occurred without incident, with docking scheduled for 27 March, although engineers had yet to determine the exact cause of the initial failure.^[12] Ultimately, the remainder of the rendezvous was nominal and TMA-12M successfully docked with the ISS at 23:53 UTC on 27 March, five minutes ahead of the rescheduled time, with hatch opening between the two spacecraft occurring at 02:35 UTC on 28 March.^[2]^[13]

Upon their arrival, Skvortsov, Artemyev and Swanson joined the crew of Expedition 39, as part of which they remained until they transferred to the crew of Expedition 40 after the May 2014 departure of Soyuz TMA-11M. The crew members of TMA-12M remained aboard the ISS until September 2014, when the spacecraft undocked and returned to Earth as scheduled.^[14]^[10]

Undocking and return to Earth

Expedition 40 commander Steven Swanson formally handed over command of the ISS to Expedition 41 commander Maksim Surayev on 9 September, the day before the mission's scheduled departure. After closing the hatches separating the station and Soyuz at 19:35 UTC on 10 September, TMA-12M undocked from the International Space Station at 23:01 UTC, ending the Expedition 40 mission and transferring control of the station to Expedition 41. The spacecraft executed a de-orbit burn at 01:30 UTC on 11 September and began re-entry at 2:01 UTC with landing occurring successfully in the Kazakh Steppe region of Kazakhstan at 2:23 UTC.^[2]^[3]

Gallery

The Soyuz rocket on the launch pad shortly after rollout.
The TMA-12M crew members wave to spectators before launch.
TMA-12M launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
TMA-12M launch as seen from the ISS.
TMA-12M departing the ISS.
TMA-12M post-landing crew recovery.

Related Research Articles

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References

↑ "NASA Consolidated Launch Schedule". NASA. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
1 2 3 Clark, Stephen. "Soyuz TMA-12M Mission Status Center". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
1 2 "Station Trio Lands Completing 169 Days in Space". NASA. NASA.gov. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
↑ "Soyuz TMA-12M docking delayed following problematic burn". NASAspaceflight.com. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
1 2 3 "Expedition 39/40 Trio's Arrival at Space Station Delayed". NASA. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
1 2 Boyle, Alan (26 March 2014). "Engine Snag Forces Two-Day Delay in Space Station Arrival". NBC News. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
↑ "ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst to fly to Space Station in 2014". ESA. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
↑ astronaut.ru (2013). "Орбитальные полёты".
↑ "Coverage Set for Next Space Station Crew Launch". NASA. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
1 2 Bergin, Chris; Harding, Pete (25 March 2014). "Another trio set sail for the ISS onboard Soyuz TMA-12M". NASA Spaceflight. Retrieved 25 March 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ Harwood, William (26 March 2014). "Soyuz sets off after station; rendezvous snag delays docking". CBS News. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
↑ Harwood, William (26 March 2014). "Soyuz on track for revised two-day station rendezvous". CBS News. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
↑ "NASA TV to Air Arrival of New Space Station Crew Thursday". NASA. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
↑ "Expedition39/40 Trio Launches to Complete Crew". NASA. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "NASA Consolidated Launch Schedule". NASA. Retrieved 13 March 2014.

[msc-2] 1 2 3 Clark, Stephen. "Soyuz TMA-12M Mission Status Center". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 27 March 2014.

[landing-3] 1 2 "Station Trio Lands Completing 169 Days in Space". NASA. NASA.gov. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2014.

[nsf20140325-4] "Soyuz TMA-12M docking delayed following problematic burn". NASAspaceflight.com. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.

[dockdelay-5] 1 2 3 "Expedition 39/40 Trio's Arrival at Space Station Delayed". NASA. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.

[dockdelay2-6] 1 2 Boyle, Alan (26 March 2014). "Engine Snag Forces Two-Day Delay in Space Station Arrival". NBC News. Retrieved 26 March 2014.

[crew-7] "ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst to fly to Space Station in 2014". ESA. Retrieved 28 September 2011.

[backup_position-8] stronaut.ru (2013). "Орбитальные полёты".

[9] "Coverage Set for Next Space Station Crew Launch". NASA. Retrieved 25 March 2014.

[nasaspaceflight1-10] 1 2 Bergin, Chris; Harding, Pete (25 March 2014). "Another trio set sail for the ISS onboard Soyuz TMA-12M". NASA Spaceflight. Retrieved 25 March 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[11] Harwood, William (26 March 2014). "Soyuz sets off after station; rendezvous snag delays docking". CBS News. Retrieved 26 March 2014.

[12] Harwood, William (26 March 2014). "Soyuz on track for revised two-day station rendezvous". CBS News. Retrieved 26 March 2014.

[13] "NASA TV to Air Arrival of New Space Station Crew Thursday". NASA. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.

[14] "Expedition39/40 Trio Launches to Complete Crew". NASA. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.

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v t e Human spaceflights to the International Space Station
See also: ISS expeditions, Uncrewed ISS flights
1998–2004	1998 STS-88 1999 STS-96 2000 STS-101 106 92 Soyuz TM-31 STS-97 2001 STS-98 102 100 Soyuz TM-32 STS-104 105 Soyuz TM-33 STS-108 2002 STS-110 Soyuz TM-34 STS-111 112 Soyuz TMA-1 STS-113 2003 Soyuz TMA-2 TMA-3 2004 Soyuz TMA-4 TMA-5	International Space Station Insignia International Space Station Emblem
2005–2009	2005 Soyuz TMA-6 STS-114 Soyuz TMA-7 2006 Soyuz TMA-8 STS-121 115 Soyuz TMA-9 STS-116 2007 Soyuz TMA-10 STS-117 118 Soyuz TMA-11 STS-120 2008 STS-122 123 Soyuz TMA-12 STS-124 Soyuz TMA-13 STS-126 2009 STS-119 Soyuz TMA-14 TMA-15 STS-127 128 Soyuz TMA-16 STS-129 Soyuz TMA-17
2010–2014	2010 STS-130 Soyuz TMA-18 STS-131 132 Soyuz TMA-19 TMA-01M TMA-20 2011 STS-133 Soyuz TMA-21 STS-134 Soyuz TMA-02M STS-135 Soyuz TMA-22 TMA-03M 2012 Soyuz TMA-04M TMA-05M TMA-06M TMA-07M 2013 Soyuz TMA-08M TMA-09M TMA-10M TMA-11M 2014 Soyuz TMA-12M TMA-13M TMA-14M TMA-15M
2015–2019	2015 Soyuz TMA-16M TMA-17M TMA-18M TMA-19M 2016 Soyuz TMA-20M MS-01 MS-02 MS-03 2017 Soyuz MS-04 MS-05 MS-06 MS-07 2018 Soyuz MS-08 MS-09 MS-10† MS-11 2019 Soyuz MS-12 MS-13 MS-15
Since 2020	2020 Soyuz MS-16 SpaceX Demo-2 Soyuz MS-17 SpaceX Crew-1 2021 Soyuz MS-18 SpaceX Crew-2 Soyuz MS-19 SpaceX Crew-3 Soyuz MS-20 2022 Soyuz MS-21 Axiom-1 SpaceX Crew-4 Soyuz MS-22 SpaceX Crew-5 2023 Soyuz MS-23 SpaceX Crew-6 Axiom-2 SpaceX Crew-7 Soyuz MS-24 2024 Axiom-3 SpaceX Crew-8 Soyuz MS-25 Boeing Crew Flight Test
Future	2024 SpaceX Crew-9 Soyuz MS-26 2025 SpaceX Crew-10 Axiom-4 Boeing Starliner-1
Individuals	List of ISS visitors crew
Vehicles	Past Space Shuttle Present Boeing Starliner Crew Dragon Soyuz Future Orel
Ongoing spaceflights are in underline † - mission failed to reach ISS

v t e ← 2013 Orbital launches in 2014 2015 →
January	GSAT-14 Thaicom 6 CRS Orb-1 (Flock-1 × 28, ArduSat-2, Lituanica SAT-1, LitSat-1, SkyCube, UAPSat-1) TDRS-L
February	Progress M-22M ABS-2, Athena-Fidus Türksat 4A USA-248 GPM Core, Ginrei, KSAT-2, INVADER, OPUSAT, STARS-II, TeikyoSat-3, ITF-1
March	Ekspress AT1, Ekspress AT2 Astra 5B, Amazonas 4A Kosmos 2494 Soyuz TMA-12M Shijian XI-06
April	USA-249 / DMSP-5D3 F19 Sentinel-1A IRNSS-1B Progress M-23M Ofek-10 USA-250 EgyptSat 2 SpaceX CRS-3 ( KickSat ) Luch 5V, KazSat-3
May	Kosmos 2495 Ekspress AM4R USA-251 USA-252 Kosmos 2496, Kosmos 2497, Kosmos 2498, Kosmos 2499 ALOS-2, Raijin-2, UNIFORM-1, SOCRATES, SPROUT Eutelsat 3B Soyuz TMA-13M
June	Kosmos 2500 / GLONASS-M 755 AprizeSat 9, AprizeSat 10, BRITE-Montreal, BRITE-Toronto, BugSat 1, Deimos-2, Hodoyoshi 3, Hodoyoshi 4, KazEOSat 2, Perseus-M1, Perseus-M2, SaudiSat-4, TabletSat-Aurora, UniSat-6 ( Lemur-1 , Tigrisat ), Flock-1c × 11 SPOT 7, CanX-4, CanX-5
July	OCO-2 Gonets-M × 3 Meteor-M No.2 O3b × 4 CRS Orb-2 (Flock-1b × 28, TechEdSat-4) Orbcomm-OG2 × 6 Foton-M No.4 Progress M-24M USA-253 / GSSAP 1, USA-254 / GSSAP 2, USA-255 / ANGELS Georges Lemaître ATV
August	USA-256 AsiaSat 8 Yaogan 20 A, B, C WorldView-3 Gaofen 2, Heweliusz Galileo FOC-1, Galileo FOC-2
September	Chuangxin 1-04, Lingqiao AsiaSat 6 Yaogan 21, Tiantuo 2 MEASAT 3b, Optus 10 USA-257 SpaceX CRS-4 Soyuz TMA-14M Olimp-K Shijian XI-07
October	Himawari 8 IRNSS-1C ARSAT-1, Intelsat 30 Yaogan 22 Ekspress AM6 Chang'e 5-T1, 4M Shijian 11-08 Cygnus CRS Orb-3† ( Arkyd-3†, Flock-1d × 26†) Progress M-25M USA-258 / GPS IIF 8 Meridian 7
November	Sasuke, Hodoyoshi 1, Kinshachi 1, Tsukushi, TSUBAME Yaogan 23 Yaogan 24 Kuaizhou 2 Soyuz TMA-15M Kosmos 2501
December	Hayabusa2, PROCYON, Shinen 2, DESPATCH Orion EFT-1 DirecTV-14, GSAT-16 CBERS-4 Yaogan 25 A, B, C USA-259 Yamal-401 O3b × 4 (FM9 to FM12) Kondor-E No.2 IPM Kosmos 2502 Resurs-P No.2 Yaogan 26 Astra 2G Fengyun 2-08
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).