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The mission of the Soyuz TMA-12 (No. 222) spacecraft, taking off in the spring of 2008 had a goal of delivering and returning the 17th long-duration crew to the International Space Station. The launch of the Soyuz FG rocket, carrying the mission was scheduled for April 8, 2008, at 15:16:35 Moscow Summer Time. (In preliminary schedules, the mission was planned as early as March 2008). During the flight to the station, the Expedition 17 crew was joined by a South-Korean "spaceflight participant" flying under a commercial agreement between Russia and South Korea. She would return home with Expedition 16 after around 10 days in orbit. Expedition 17 crews:
According to the original plans approved in September 2007, a South Korean computer engineer Ko San from the Samsung research center was selected as a primary candidate for the mission onboard Soyuz TMA-12 and a biologist So-yeon Yi from the Academy of Science and technology was appointed as his backup. However, at the beginning of March 2008, Russian authorities demanded to replace Ko San in the crew for repeated violations of the rules for handling sensitive documentation. According to the Russian press, Ko San repeatedly took a flight control manual for the Soyuz spacecraft off the premises of the Gagarin Training Center in Star City without permission. As a passenger onboard the Soyuz, he apparently was not suppose to have access to the document. The alleged violations occurred in September 2007 and February 2008. On March 10, 2008, the head of the Russian space agency, Roskosmos, Anatoly Perminov announced that Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology agreed to replace the primary candidate with a backup. Ko San remained in Russia and continued serving as a backup to So-yeon Yi. Preflight processing 2008 April 3: In Baikonur, members of the primary and backup crews of the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft conducted a final inspection of their spacecraft in flight configuration. The also inspected the Progress M-64 spacecraft, which was being prepared for launch in May 2008. 2008 April 4: In Baikonur, the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft was transferred from the processing building at Site 254 to the launch vehicle integration building at Site 112 for final assembly. 2008 April 5: At Site 112 in Baikonur, engineers conducted the final assembly of the Soyuz-FG rocket connecting the payload section to the booster stages of the rocket in preparation for the rollout to the launch pad. In the second half of the day, State Commission overseeing the launch, conducted a meeting, which gave go ahead to the rollout of the launch vehicle to the launch pad. 2008 April 6: The Soyuz-FG rocket with Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft was rolled out to the launch pad at Site 1 in Baikonur Cosmodrome. Launch 2008 April 8: Russia launched the 17th long-duration crew for a half-a-year shift onboard the International Space Station. The Soyuz FG rocket carrying the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft, blasted off from the launch pad at Site 1 in Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 6:16 Houston Time (15:16:39 Moscow Time) as scheduled. Few minutes after the launch, the spacecraft successfully reached its orbit. According to Russian space officials, solar panels onboard the Soyuz had deployed, and all systems worked flawlessly. Onboard is a crew of three, including Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko, along with a South-Korean researcher, So-yeon Yi, flying under a commercial agreement between Russia and South Korea. Shortly before launch, as the crew was already onboard the spacecraft, flight controllers were looking at a problem with a zipper on Volkov's spacesuit. The cosmonaut reported that during the pressurization, small area of the internal bladder of the suit bulged through the zipper. The problem was quickly resolved, according to NASA officials. After a two-day autonomous flight, Soyuz TMA-12 is scheduled to dock with the station on April 10, 2008, around 8 a.m. Houston Time. The 17th expedition is expected to remain onboard the station until October 2008. Docking 2008 April 10: The Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft successfully docked to the Pirs docking port of the station on April 10, 2008, at 7:57 a.m. Houston Time, as the two vehicles were flying over northern Kazakhstan. The opening of the hatches between the station and the spacecraft took place around 10:40 Houston Time on April 10, 2008. Expedition 17 milestones (as of April 2008): 2008 April 8, 15:16:35 Moscow Summer Time: Soyuz FG to launch Soyuz TMA-12 from Baikonur toward the ISS. 2008 April 10: The Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft to dock to the Pirs docking compartment of the ISS. 2008 April 19: The Soyuz TMA-11 landing with Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson, Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko and South-Korean spaceflight participant So-yeon Yi onboard. 2008 May 6: The Soyuz TMA-12 to relocate to from Pirs docking compartment to the nadir (Earth-facing) docking port of the Zarya FGB control module of the ISS. 2008 May 14: Launch of the Progress cargo ship (Mission 29P) from Baikonur. 2008 May 16: The Progress cargo ship to dock to the Pirs docking compartment. 2008 May 31: The Shuttle Discovery with the Japan's laboratory module to launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on the STS-124/1J mission. 2008 June 2: The Shuttle Discovery to dock to the PMA-2 module of the ISS. 2008 June 3: Japan's Kibo laboratory module to be docked to the port side of the Harmony node module on the ISS. 2008 June 10: The Shuttle Discovery to undock from ISS. 2008 June 13: The Shuttle Discovery to land. 2008 July 10: Volkov and Kononenko to conduct a spacewalk (EVA) from the Pirs docking compartment of the Russian segment of the ISS. 2008 Aug. 7: The ATV-1 Jules Verne cargo ship to undock from the aft port of the Zvezda service module. 2008 Aug. 12: The launch of the Progress cargo ship (Mission 30P) from Baikonur. 2008 Aug. 14: The Progress cargo ship to dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module of the ISS. 2008 Sept. 9: The Progress cargo ship (Mission 29P) to undock from the Pirs docking compartment of the ISS. 2008 Sept. 10: The Progress cargo ship (Mission 31P) to launch from Baikonur. 2008 Sept. 12: The Progress cargo ship (Mission 31P) to dock to the Pirs docking compartment of the ISS. 2008 Oct. 10: The Progress cargo ship (Mission 30P) to undock from the aft port of the Zvezda service module of the ISS. 2008 Oct. 12: The Soyuz TMA-13 to launch from Baikonur carrying the Expedition 18 crew. 2008 Oct. 14: The Soyuz TMA-13 to dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module of the ISS. 2008 Oct. 23: Soyuz TMA-12 landing Maneuver canceled, spacewalk mulled after landing incident 2008 May 4: In the wake of a botched landing of the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft last month, Russian space officials made a decision to cancel a scheduled re-docking of the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft, which is currently in orbit. The Soyuz TMA-12 with the crew onboard was scheduled to conduct a short flight from the Pirs Docking Compartment of the station to the nadir (Earth-facing) port of the Zarya FGB control module on May 6, 2008. According to NASA, the manuever was postponed until late August or early September 2008, In addition to providing extra time for the investigation of the Soyuz TMA-11 landing, it also would allow for the delivery of a new Sokol launch and entry suit for Volkov on a future Progress cargo ship launch. The suit Volkov wore for launch and docking on April 8 and 10 has a broken zipper, NASA said. The decision to cancel the maneuver was widely anticipated, since the failure of Soyuz TMA-12 to dock would then require it to make an emergency landing. However, Russian officials are still investigating the cause of the problems during the landing of Soyuz TMA-11 and it is still unknown if the current mission can return home safely. A report on Novosti Kosmonavtiki web forum said that an emergency spacewalk by the station crew was considered to review the status of one of the pyrotechnic locks onboard Soyuz TMA-12, in case the ongoing investigation confirms that the device was a culprit in the failure of separation between the crew module and the propulsion module during the landing of the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft in May, as well the similar incident during the Soyuz-TMA-10 landing last fall.
Page author: Anatoly Zak; Last update: May 7, 2008 Editor: Alain Chabot; Last edit: April 10, 2008 All rights reserved |
IMAGE ARCHIVE
The primary crew of the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft poses in front of its mission logo on the payload fairing of the launch vehicle. Credit: RKK Energia
The Soyuz FG rocket with the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft is being erected on the launch pad on April 6, 2008. Credit: RKK Energia
The crewmembers of the Soyuz-TMA-12 spacecraft inside the capsule shortly before the launch on Tuesday, April 8, 2008. Credit NASA TV
South-Korean researcher, So-yeon Yi can be seen in the right seat inside the reentry capsule of the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft shortly before her launch on Tuesday, April 8, 2008. At age 29, she became the youngest woman to fly into space. Credit: NASA TV
The Soyuz TMA-12 blasts off on Tuesday, April 8, 2008. Credit: NASA TV
The Soyuz TMA-12 as seen from the station, shortly before docking Thursday, April 10, 2008. Credit: NASA TV
The International Space Station, as viewed from the approaching Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft on April 10, 2008. A newly arrived ATV cargo ship is clearly visible in the top right corner of the image. Credit: NASA TV
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