Soyuz TMA-15

Soyuz TMA-15
Mission typeISS crew rotation
OperatorRoscosmos
COSPAR ID2009-030A
SATCAT no.35010
Mission duration6 months and 4 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeSoyuz-TMA 11F732
ManufacturerEnergia
Crew
Crew size3
MembersRoman Romanenko
Frank De Winne
Robert Brent Thirsk
CallsignТаймыр (Taymyr) or
Парус (Parus, meaning Sail)
Start of mission
Launch date27 May 2009, 10:34:53 (2009-05-27UTC10:34:53Z) UTC
RocketSoyuz-FG
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing date1 December 2009, 07:17 (2009-12-01UTC07:18Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude151 kilometres (94 mi)
Apogee altitude414 kilometres (257 mi)
Inclination51.6 degrees
Period90.16 minutes
Epoch28 May 2009
Docking with ISS
Docking portZarya nadir
Docking date29 May 2009
12:34 UTC
Undocking date1 December 2009
03:56 UTC
Time docked185d 15h 22m

From left to right; Thirsk, Romanenko and De Winne
Soyuz programme
(Crewed missions)

Soyuz TMA-15 was a crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station. Part of the Soyuz programme, it transported three members of the Expedition 20 crew to the space station. TMA-15 was the 102nd crewed flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, since Soyuz 1 in 1967. The Soyuz spacecraft remained docked to the space station during Expedition 20 and Expedition 21 as an emergency escape vehicle. The mission marked the start of six-person crew operations on the ISS.