Soyuz TMA-21

Soyuz TMA-21

Operator	Roskosmos
COSPAR ID	2011-012A
SATCAT no.	37382
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Soyuz-TMA 11F732
Manufacturer	RKK Energia
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	Aleksandr Samokutyayev Andrei Borisenko Ronald J. Garan
Callsign	Tarkhany
Start of mission
Launch date	April 4, 2011, 22:18:20 (2011-04-04UTC22:18:20Z) UTC[1][2]
Rocket	Soyuz-FG
Launch site	Baikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing date	September 16, 2011, 03:59:39 (2011-09-16UTC03:59:40Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	201.2 kilometres (125.0 mi)
Apogee altitude	254.69 kilometres (158.26 mi)[3]
Inclination	51.65 degrees
Period	88.76 minutes
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Poisk zenith
Docking date	6 April 2011 23:09 UTC
Undocking date	16 September 2011 00:38 UTC
Time docked	162d 1h 29m
From left to right: Garan, Samokutyayev and Borisenko in front their Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft dubbed "Gagarin" Soyuz programme (Crewed missions) ← Soyuz TMA-20 Soyuz TMA-02M →

Soyuz TMA-21 ("Gagarin") was a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station (ISS). It transported three members of the Expedition 27 crew to the ISS, and docked at the station on April 6, 2011. TMA-21 is the 109th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, the first of which launched in 1967. The Soyuz remained attached to the space station as a lifeboat, throughout the remainder of Expedition 27 and through the end of Expedition 28, and returned to Earth on September 16, 2011.

The launch of Soyuz TMA-21 was devoted to the 50th anniversary of the first crewed space mission, which was conducted by Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961.^[4] The COSPAR International ID of Soyuz TMA-21 is 2011-012A.^[5]