Soyuz TM-31

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  26603 / 00070A Launch date - time  31 Oct 2000 - 07:52:47 UT Launch site  Baikonur, LC1/5 Launch vehicle  Soyuz 11A511U (n° A15000-666) OKB name - S/Nº  Soyuz 7K-STM (11F732) s/nº 205 Mass (kg)   Launched Crew  Shepherd W. (ECDR) Gidzenko Y. (SCDR) Krikalyov S. (FE) Call Sign  Uran

Docking date - time  02 Nov 2000 - 09:21:03 UT Target spacecraft/port  ISS/Zvezda aft port Earth orbit on :    - Perigee - Apogee  384 - 396 km    - Inclination  51.6°    - Period  92 min Undocking date - time  24 Feb 2001 - 10:06:40 UT Redocking date - time  24 Feb 2001 - 10:35:40 UT Target spacecraft/port  ISS/Zarya nadir port Undocking date - time  18 Apr 2001 - 12:40 UT Redocking date - time  18 Apr 2001 - 13:01 UT Target spacecraft/port  ISS/Zvezda -Y port Undocking date - time  06 May 2001 - 02:21:09 UT Deorbit burn - time  06 May 2001 - 04:47 UT Landing date - time  06 May 2001 - 05:41:28 UT Landing location  82 km NE of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakstan Flight Duration (d:hr:min)   Nbr orbits   Landing crew (VC-1)  Musabayev, Baturin, Tito  (visiting crew TM-32)

Launch Crew (Exp.1)

19 Oct 2000 - Baikonur
Close-outs with Soyuz TM space craft take place in the Assembly and Testing Facility
at Baikonur launch site

The crew of the first prime mission

25 Oct 2000. Baikonur launch site
Designers inspection of the Soyuz TM space craft.

Payload shroud roll on to the Soyuz TM space craft.

Mission details:

• The Expedition One crew was launched on a Soyuz transport ship to the International Space Station at 07:53 UTC on Oct 31, 2000. Soyuz TM-31 flew from Pad 5, Area 1 at 5 GIK Baykonur. Soyuz TM-31 commander (komandir) is Yuri Gidzenko; Flight engineer-1 (bortinzhener) is Sergei Krikalev; Flight engineer-2 is Bill Shepherd of NASA. The astronauts are using Gidzenko's callsign "Uran".
• RSC Energia announced the initial orbit of the Soyuz as: 190 x 248,6 km, inclination 51.68 degrees and period 88.59 minutes.
  The first tasks for the crew included deployment of the spacecraft's motion control system. On orbits three and four, phasing burns were completed to keep the Soyuz on course fir its rendezvous with ISS.

• The automated rendezvous sequence, controled by the Kurs system, was initiated some 2.5 hours prior to the docking and as the Soyuz closed in distance to the ISS, several rendezvous manoeuvres were conducted beginningtwo hours before docking with a major impulse some 54 seconds in duration.
  About 30 minutes before docking, a fly-around of the complex was initiated and shortly afterwards, the Soyuz began station keeping some 170 metres from the rear port of the Zvezda module.
  Ten minutes prior to the docking, the slow motion approach to Zvezda was commanded and the Kurs system guided Soyuz to a flawless docking.
• Soyuz TM-31 docked at Zvezda's rear port at 09:21 UTC on Nov 2, 2000 as the two craft flew above central Kazakhstan. The hatch to Zvezda was opened at 10:23 UTC. Once aboard ISS, Shepherd became the ISS Commander. NASA Administrator Goldin has approved 'Station Alpha' as the ISS callsign for the duration of the first expedition.
  RSC Energia gave the parameters of the orbit of the ISS : 379.7 x 403.8 km, inclination 51.6 and period 92.1 minutes.
• Soyuz TM-31, carrying the Expedition One crew of Shepherd, Gidzenko and Krikalyov, undocked from the -Y port on Zvezda on Feb 24, 2001 at 10:06 UTC and redocked with the -Z port on Zarya at 10:37 UTC. This freed the Zvezda port for a Progress resupply ship.
• Soyuz TM-31 undocked from the Zarya nadir port Apr 18, 2001 at 12:40 UTC and redocked with the Zvezda aft port at 13:01 UTC, leaving clearance for the Raffaello MPLM module to dock at the Unity nadir during STS-100.
• The visiting crew of Musabaev, Baturin and tourist Dennis Tito (launched by Soyuz TM-32), remained on Alpha for almost six days; they closed the hatches on Soyuz TM-31 late on May 5, 2001 leaving Usachyov, Helms and Voss aboard the Station, and undocked from Zvezda's -Y port at 0221 UTC on May 6. The deorbit burn came at 0447 UTC, followed by separation of the BO and PAO modules. The descent craft touched down near Arkalyk in Kazakstan at 0541 UTC on May 6.
• Space Command appears to have cataloged the vehicle as "Soyuz TMA-1", but the Energya web site calls it Soyuz TM-31. The first Soyuz TMA will not fly till next year; this vehicle is a standard Soyuz TM, probably 11F732 No. 205, and the TMA-1 name is simply incorrect.

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Baikonur, send registrated. 4 different cancels.

Cooperation in Space. Credit: #401