Soyuz TMA-13M

Soyuz TMA-13M was a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 40 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-13M was the 122nd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since 1967, and the 39th Soyuz mission to the ISS. The Soyuz remained docked to the space station for the Expedition 41 increment to serve as an emergency escape vehicle until its departure in November 2014.

Soyuz TMA-13M

Soyuz TMA-13M docked to the ISS, flying above California and Nevada.
Operator	Roscosmos
COSPAR ID	2014-031A
SATCAT no.	39775
Mission duration	165 days, 8 hours, 1 minute
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Soyuz 11F732A47 No.713
Spacecraft type	Soyuz-TMA 11F747
Manufacturer	Energia
Launch mass	305,000 Kilograms
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	Maksim Surayev Gregory R. Wiseman Alexander Gerst
Callsign	Cepheus
Start of mission
Launch date	28 May 2014, 19:57:41 (2014-05-28UTC19:57:41Z) UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-FG
Launch site	Baikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing date	10 November 2014, 03:58 (2014-11-10UTC03:59Z) UTC
Landing site	Kazakh Steppe, Kazakhstan
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Rassvet nadir
Docking date	29 May 2014 01:44 UTC
Undocking date	10 November 2014 00:31 UTC
Time docked	164 days, 22 hours, 47 minutes
(l-r) Gerst, Wiseman and Surayev Soyuz programme (Crewed missions)

Crew

Position	Crew Member
Commander	Maksim Surayev, Roscosmos Expedition 40 Second and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1	Gregory R. Wiseman, NASA Expedition 40 First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2	Alexander Gerst, ESA Expedition 40 First spaceflight

Backup crew

Position	Crew Member
Commander	Anton Shkaplerov, Roscosmos
Flight Engineer 1	Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA
Flight Engineer 2	Terry W. Virts, NASA

Mission highlights

Rollout

The Soyuz FG rocket carrying the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft was rolled to the launch pad at Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 26 May 2014. Under sunny skies, the roll out began at 7 o'clock in the morning. The rollout was attended by the Soyuz backup crew members, Anton Shkaplerov, Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts. The Soyuz TMA-13M prime crew was not at the event, since it is considered to bring bad luck. Once the 49.5 meter tall Soyuz FG rocket was erected in its vertical launch position, the launcher was enclosed by its service structure, to provide protection and access platforms for workers.

Launch, rendezvous and docking

Launch of Soyuz TMA-13M occurred successfully at 19:57 UTC on May 28, 2014, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Upon achieving orbit approximately nine minutes after launch, TMA-13M began a four-orbit rendezvous with the International Space Station. Soyuz TMA-13M subsequently docked with the Rassvet module of the ISS at 1:44 UTC on May 29. Hatches were opened between the two spacecraft just over two hours later at 3:52 UTC.

Undocking and return to Earth

Soyuz TMA-13M undocked from the International Space Station at 00:31 UTC on November 10, 2014, with a 4-minute, 41-second deorbit burn occurring at 03:05 UTC. The spacecraft successfully landed northwest of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan at 03:58 UTC.

Gallery

• 
  Soyuz crew in front of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow's Red Square
• 
  TMA-13M launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
• 
  Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft on 5-28-14 at a distance of 25m on final approach, astronaut's hand can be seen in the window.