Soyuz TMA-4

Summary

Soyuz TMA-4 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle. It was launched on April 19, 2004 (UTC) from Baikonur Cosmodrome. Gennady Padalka from Russia, Michael Fincke from the US and André Kuipers from the Netherlands were flown to the International Space Station. Kuipers returned to Earth 9 days later together with ISS crew 8 with the re-entry module of the Soyuz TMA-3, the other two stayed as ISS crew 9. The craft landed October 24, 2004 with Padalka, Fincke and Yuri Shargin aboard.

Soyuz TMA-4
OperatorRoskosmos
COSPAR ID2004-013A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.28228Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration187 days, 13 hours, 22 minutes
Orbits completed~2,950
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeSoyuz-TMA 11F732
ManufacturerRKK Energia
Crew
Crew size3
MembersGennady Padalka
Michael Fincke
LaunchingAndré Kuipers
LandingYuri Shargin
CallsignAltair
Start of mission
Launch dateApril 19, 2004, 03:19:00 (2004-04-19UTC03:19Z) UTC
RocketSoyuz-FG
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing dateOctober 24, 2004, 00:35:00 (2004-10-24UTC00:36Z) UTC
Landing site90 kilometres (56 mi) north of the town of Arkalyk
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude200 kilometres (120 mi)
Apogee altitude252 kilometres (157 mi)
Inclination51.7 degrees
Period88.7 minutes
Docking with ISS
Docking portZarya nadir
Docking date21 April 2004
05:01 UTC
Undocking date23 October 2004
21:08 UTC
Time docked185d 16h 7m

From left to right: Michael Fincke, Gennady Padalka and André Kuipers
Soyuz programme
(Crewed missions)
 

Crew edit

Position Launching crew Landing crew
Commander   Gennady Padalka, RKA[1]
Expedition 9
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer   Michael Fincke, NASA[1]
Expedition 9
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer   André Kuipers, ESA[2]
First spaceflight
  Yuri Shargin, RKA[1]
Only spaceflight

Original Crew edit

Position Crew
Commander   Talgat Musabayev, RKA
N/A (Taxi Flight)
Fourth spaceflight
Flight Engineer   Hans Schlegel, ESA
N/A (Taxi Flight)
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer or Spaceflight Participant Spaceflight Participant or Russian Cosmonaut
N/A (Taxi Flight)
First spaceflight

Mission parameters edit

  • Mass: ? kg
  • Perigee: 200 km
  • Apogee: 252 km
  • Inclination: 51.7°
  • Period: 88.7 minutes

Docking with ISS edit

  • Docked to ISS: April 21, 2004, 05:01 UTC (to nadir port of Zarya)
  • Undocked from ISS: October 23, 2004, 21:08 UTC (from nadir port of Zarya)

Mission highlights edit

 
Soyuz TMA-4 spacecraft approaches the ISS.

Soyuz TMA-4 is a Russian passenger spacecraft that was launched by a Soyuz-FG rocket from Baikonur at 03:19 UT on April 19, 2004. It carried three astronauts (a Russian, an American and a Dutchman) to the International Space Station (ISS) and docked with the Zarya module of the ISS automatically on April 21 at 05:01 UT. Two of its astronauts remained in the ISS for about six months, while the Dutch astronaut and the two astronauts who had inhabited the ISS for several months left the ISS on April 29 in the TMA-3 that had remained docked with the ISS, soft landing in Kazakhstan at 00:11 on April 30.

The Expedition 10 crew, Leroy Chiao-Cdr U.S.A. and Salizhan Sharipov-Russia replaced the Expedition 9 crew, Gennady Padalka-Cdr Russia and Michael Fincke-Flight Engineer-U.S.A. on October 16, 2004.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE on General Designers' Review for the Soyuz TMA-5 prelaunch processing". NPO Energia. September 22, 2004. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  2. ^ "Return to space for Spanish ESA astronaut". ESA. October 16, 2003. Retrieved December 17, 2008.