Soyuz TMA-6

Soyuz TMA-6 was a human spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS). It carried three crew members of Expedition 11 to the International Space Station. It was the 26th crewed flight to the ISS. It was launched by a Soyuz FG and returned to Earth after performing operations at the ISS.

Soyuz TMA-6

Soyuz TMA-6 launches to the International Space Station
Operator	Roscosmos
COSPAR ID	2005-013A
SATCAT no.	28640
Mission duration	179.984 days
Orbits completed	2,817
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Soyuz-TMA 11F732
Manufacturer	Energia
Launch mass	7,200 kilograms (15,900 lb)
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	Sergei Krikalev John Phillips
Launching	Roberto Vittori
Landing	Gregory Olsen
Start of mission
Launch date	April 15, 2005, 00:46:25 (2005-04-15UTC00:46:25Z) UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-FG
Launch site	Baikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing date	October 11, 2005, 01:09:00 (2005-10-11UTC01:10Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	349 kilometres (217 mi)
Apogee altitude	360 kilometres (220 mi)
Inclination	51.64 degrees
Period	92.6 minutes
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Pirs nadir
Docking date	17 April 2005 02:20 UTC
Undocking date	19 July 2005 10:38 UTC
Time docked	93d 8h 18m
Docking with ISS (Relocation)
Docking port	Zarya nadir
Docking date	19 July 2005 11:08 UTC
Undocking date	10 October 2005 21:49 UTC
Time docked	83d 10h 41m
(l to r) Vittori, Krikalev, Phillips Soyuz programme (Crewed missions) ← Soyuz TMA-5 Soyuz TMA-7 →

Crew

Position	Launching crew	Landing crew
Commander	Sergei Krikalev, Roscosmos[1] Expedition 11 Sixth and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer	John Phillips, NASA[1] Expedition 11 Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer/Spaceflight Participant	Roberto Vittori, ESA[1] Second spaceflight	Gregory Olsen, SA Only spaceflight Third Tourist

Docking with ISS

• Docked to ISS: April 17, 2005, 02:20 UTC (to Pirs module)
• Undocked from ISS: July 19, 2005, 10:38 UTC (from Pirs module)
• Docked to ISS: July 19, 2005, 11:08 UTC (to nadir port of Zarya)
• Undocked from ISS: October 10, 2005, 21:49 UTC (from nadir port of Zarya)

Mission highlights

TMA-6 capsule on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Soyuz TMA-6 is a Soyuz TMA spacecraft which was launched on April 15, 2005 by a Soyuz-FG rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome. During the return flight from the ISS, instruments in the descent module of the Soyuz spacecraft indicated a cabin-pressure-leak that is still under investigation. The Expedition 11 crew, Sergei Krikalev-Cdr Russia, John Phillips-U.S.A. replaced the Expedition 10 crew, Leroy Chiao-Cdr U.S.A. and Salizhan Sharipov-Russia.

The astronaut Roberto Vittori brought a painting by the German-Russian artist George Pusenkoff titled Single Mona Lisa (1:1) to the space station, which shows a modified image of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and took video and photo shots of the work in the International Space Station. This art action, initiated by Pusenkoff, was mainly made possible by the efforts of the then Italian ambassador to Russia, Gianfranco Facco Bonetti. The combination of science and art, as da Vinci himself lived it, was used here to let his spirit work not only on earth, but also in space. The photos are documented in the book Mona Lisa Travels.^[2]