Soyuz TMA-08M

Soyuz TMA-08M
Soyuz TMA-08M departs from the ISS, 10 September 2013
Mission typeISS crew rotation
OperatorRoscosmos
COSPAR ID2013-013A
SATCAT no.39125
Mission duration166 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSoyuz 11F732A47 No.708
Spacecraft typeSoyuz-TMA 11F747
ManufacturerRKK Energia
Crew
Crew size3
MembersPavel Vinogradov
Alexander Misurkin
Christopher Cassidy
CallsignКарат ("Carat")
Start of mission
Launch date28 March 2013, 20:43:20 (2013-03-28UTC20:43:20Z) UTC
RocketSoyuz-FG
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5
End of mission
Landing date11 September 2013, 02:58 (2013-09-11UTC02:59Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Docking with ISS
Docking portPoisk zenith
Docking date29 March 2013, 02:28 UTC
Undocking date10 September 2013, 23:37 UTC
Time docked165 days, 21 hours, 9 minutes

(l-r) Cassidy, Vinogradov, and Misurkin

Soyuz TMA-08M (Russian: Союз ТМА-08M meaning Union TMA-08M), identified as Soyuz 34 or 34S by NASA, was a 2013 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 35 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-08M was the 117th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, the first flight launching in 1967.

The Russian Soyuz TMA-08M utilized the new 6-hour fast rendezvous flight profile developed by the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and previously tested on Progress M-16M and M-17M, instead of the usual two-day rendezvous, making it possible for crew members to leave ground facilities and board the International Space Station in less time than a typical transatlantic flight.