Soyuz_TMA-12
Soyuz TMA-12
2008 Russian crewed spaceflight to the ISS
Soyuz TMA-12 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was launched by a Soyuz FG rocket at 11:16 UTC on 8 April 2008. It docked to the Pirs module of the station on 10 April 2008.[2] Landing occurred at 03:37 on 24 October. It was the first nominal landing in three missions, following separation failures on the Soyuz TMA-10 and 11 spacecraft.
| Operator | Roskosmos |
|---|---|
| COSPAR ID | 2008-015A  |
| SATCAT no. | 32756 |
| Mission duration | 198d 16h 21m |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Soyuz-TMA |
| Manufacturer | RKK Energia |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 3 |
| Members | Sergey Volkov Oleg Kononenko |
| Launching | Yi So-Yeon |
| Landing | Richard Garriott |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | April 8, 2008, 11:16:39 (2008-04-08UTC11:16:39Z) UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-FG |
| Launch site | Baikonur 1/5 |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | October 24, 2008, 03:37 (2008-10-24UTC03:38Z) UTC[1] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Docking with ISS | |
| Docking port | Pirs nadir |
| Docking date | 10 April 2008 12:57 UTC |
| Undocking date | 24 October 2008 00:16 UTC |
| Time docked | 196d 11h 19m |
From left to right: Yi So-yeon, Sergey Volkov, Oleg Kononenko Soyuz programme (Crewed missions) | |
| Position | Launching crew | Landing crew |
|---|---|---|
| Commander |  Sergey Volkov, RKAExpedition 17 First spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer | / Oleg Kononenko, RKAExpedition 17 First spaceflight | |
| Spaceflight Participant |  Yi So-Yeon, KAP[3]Only spaceflight |
 / Richard Garriott, SA[4]Only spaceflight |
Backup crew
| Position | Launching crew | Landing crew |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Maksim Surayev, RKA | |
| Flight Engineer | Oleg Skripochka, RKA | |
| Spaceflight Participant | Ko San, KAP |
 Nik Halik, SA[5] |
Crew Notes
Yi So-yeon flew as a guest of the Russian government through the Korean Astronaut Program after the Korean government paid the Russian government 25 million US dollars in agreement to support the first Korean astronaut in space. Her role aboard the Soyuz is referred to as a Spaceflight Participant in English-language Russian Federal Space Agency and NASA documents and press briefings.[6] Ko San was originally scheduled to fly, with Yi as his backup. On 10 March 2008, it was announced that Ko breached regulations surrounding removal of books from the training centre in Russia,[7] and therefore would not be allowed to fly.[3]
Richard Garriott flew as a private astronaut through a program run by Space Adventures. He is also referred to as a Spaceflight Participant in English-language RKA and NASA documents.
Soyuz TMA-12 saw the joined landing of the world's first two second-generation space travellers, Sergey Volkov and Richard Garriott. Volkov's father, Aleksandr Volkov, flew to space three times and visited the Salyut 7 and Mir space stations. Garriott's father, Owen Garriott, flew to space twice and visited the Skylab space station.
- NASA (2008). "Expedition 17". NASA. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- "CNN - S. Korea names woman as first astronaut". Archived from the original on 2008-03-15. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- Space Adventures Announces 1st Second Generation Astronaut Space Adventures
- "Space Adventures Announces the Identity of Back-up Crew Member". PRNewswire.com. 28 January 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2023.