Soyuz TMA-18M

Soyuz TMA-18M
Soyuz TMA-18M undocks from the ISS, 2 March 2016.
OperatorRoskosmos
COSPAR ID2015-043A
SATCAT no.40885
Mission duration181d 23h 48m
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeSoyuz-TMA 11F747 No.718
ManufacturerRKK Energia
Crew
Crew size3
MembersSergey Volkov
LaunchingAndreas Mogensen
Aydyn Aimbetov
LandingMikhail Korniyenko
Scott Kelly
CallsignEridan
Start of mission
Launch date2 September 2015
04:37:42 UTC
RocketSoyuz-FG
End of mission
Landing date2 March 2016
04:25:27 UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Docking with ISS
Docking portPoisk
Docking date4 September 2015
07:42:00 UTC
Undocking date2 March 2016
01:02:30 UTC
Time docked179 days, 17 hours, 20 minutes

(l-r) Mogensen, Volkov and Aimbetov
Soyuz programme
(Crewed missions)

Soyuz TMA-18M was a 2015 Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station. It provided the two twelve-months occupants (Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko) at the International Space Station with a fresh Soyuz capsule. TMA-18M was the 127th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft; the first having occurred in 1967. The ascent flight consisted of a Russian commander and two flight engineers from Denmark (ESA) and Kazakhstan respectively. The flight launched in September 2015 and returned to Earth in March 2016.

The Kazakh Aidyn Aimbetov is of the first Kazakh cosmonaut class, and the first to fly. The ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen became the first Dane in space.

The descent crew was the same Russian commander and the two twelve-months occupants in March 2016. Two of the ascent crew members returned to Earth with Soyuz TMA-16M in September 2015.