The 10th Expedition Crew to ISS lifted off in their TMA-5 Soyuz Vehicle, atop the venerable Starsem booster, from Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 13 October 2004 at 10:06 PM CDT (3:06 14 October GMT). This marked the beginning of 193 days on orbit for this Crew. The crew of TMA-5 consisted of Cosmonauts Salizan Sharipov (Soyuz Commander - Expedition 10 Flight Engineer), Yuri Shargin (Russian Space Forces), and Astronaut Leroy Chiao (Expedition 10 Commander and Science Officer). Shargin returned to Earth one week later with Expedition 9 Crew aboard the TMA-4 Soyuz.

TMA-5 Docked With ISS on 15 October at 11:16 PM CDT (4:16 16 October GMT). During their six and a half month stay aboard, the Crew mounted Two EVAs (Extra-Vehicular Activity or spacewalk) from the PIRS docking and airlock compartment wearing Russian Orlan Spacesuits. The EVAs took place on 26 January 2005, and 28 March 2005. Both were successful, and accomplished all their goals.

Twenty-two major scientific experiment programs (pdf file 2.49mb) were carried out during Expedition 10. These included studies in Bioastronautics, the Physical Sciences, Space Product Development, and Space Flight.

There were several nagging problems with the Elektron oxygen generating system, and the Vozdukh CO2 scrubbing equipment. These problems persisted until STS-114 / Discovery visited ISSy in July/August 2005, bringing up parts and supplies needed to finally stem the failures. Just a few days before Expedition 10 returned to Earth, another of the Control Moment Gyros failed. These are used for keeping station attitude under control. This too was repaired once and for all during the visit of STS-114.

The arrival of the Expedition 11 Crew on 16 April 2005, with Italian Astronaut Roberto Vittori, signalled the final days of Expedition 10. Sharipov, Chiao, and Vittori undocked their TMA-5 Soyuz from ISSy on 24 April 2005. They initiated their deorbit burn, and executed re-entry. They made a safe landing near Arkalyk in Kazakhstan later that same evening. Over all, Expedition 10 was a happy and successful mission.

On the chilly morning of 13 October 2004, the flight of Soyuz- TMA-5 began with a rocket blast from Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The liftoff and ascent to orbit were flawless, and the crew began a two day race to catch up with ISS. The morning of Saturday 16 October 2004, saw the Soyuz make a perfect docking with ISSy, in spite of the failure of the KURS automatic system. Soyuz Commander and Pilot Salizhan Sharipov was obliged to take his ship the rest of the way on manual control. (Some explanation about how the Kurs automated docking system works is available HERE. PDF File 92kb) A couple hours later, Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka, and crewmate Mike Fincke, opened the last hatch between the two spacecraft, and welcomed the Expedition 10 crew aboard. Along for a ten day stay was Yuri Shargin, of the Russian Space Force. Cosmonaut Shargin flew the third seat of Soyuz along with the new ISSy crew, Commander Leroy Chiao, and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov. A fine welcoming ceremony was enjoyed by all hands.

During the approach to ISSy, TMA-5 was seen to have company. There were four incidents during the hour previous to final docking. The first incident involved what I call "The Strange Phenomenon". The other three had to do with anomalous objects in space. The pages dealing with the First, Second, and Third objects are also available on this site. This page is concerned with the actual docking of Soyuz to ISSy. We thought you'd enjoy seeing what this looks like.

The spacecraft had just compleated the customary "fly-around" for a visual inspection of the station exterior. At this point, the Soyuz assumed a stationary position relative to ISSy, called "station keeping". The purpose of this operation was to to await three things. A final checkout of Soyuz systems before final docking, coming into range of Russian tracking stations on the ground, and the rising of the Sun. Since the KURS automated docking system aboard Soyuz had failed, daylight was doubly important for a manual docking by Soyuz Pilot Salizhan Sharipov.

After the Sun rose, and their orbits had carried the two spacecraft over the Russian ground station network, Soyuz TMA-5 was given the go to cease "station keeping". Pilot Sharipov proceeded execute final approach and docking to the PIRS module of ISSy. His flying was perfect, and he brought his vehicle in for a flawless docking.

The portion of our visual presentation below showing Soyuz, and the maneuvering jets in use for final approach to dock, was shot by the TV unit mounted on Canadarm 2.

The actual docking to the PIRS module was recorded by Astronaut Mike Fincke using a remote camera mounted on the exterior of ISSy, but it was not sent down to Mission Control Houston until nearly an hour after the fact.

The control thrusters on the outside of the Zvezda module, used for maintaining control of station attitude, were inhibited during final approach. This is to prevent ISSy making any sudden movements as the Soyuz vehicle closes in for docking. (Example of an ISS Thruster Firing) Should a control thruster fire as Soyuz was coming in to dock, it could easily cause the docking port to shift position. That could result in a collision damaging both Soyuz AND the Station.

We have prepared a visual presentation for you to see. How about we take a look at it now, OK?

Most interesting, eh? Rather dramatic looking too. Each of the blasts from those maneuvering jets is nudging the 7 ton Soyuz into proper alignment to the docking ring on the PIRS module.

Since the KURS automatic docking system failed on this flight, this operation is even more delicate in that it was manually accomplished by Pilot Salizhan Sharipov.

For brevity, the 1 minute 8 seconds it took in real time for this video clip to play out has been speeded up considerably.

Not that when contact is made, Soyuz executes a little "twist" like screwing down a jar lid. This is nearly what actually happened, as hooks and latches are engaged to accomplish an airtight seal between the two spacecraft.

We hope you enjoyed this little side trip into the "nuts and bolts" operations of ISSy. Most people never witness such things as we presented on this page. Thanks for taking the time to have a look.

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These docking videos were recorded by ISS Expedition 9 Flight Engineer Mike Fincke, operating remote cameras on the exterior of ISSy. The video recording was broadcast 57 minutes after the fact by NASA Select TV under the supervision of the CATO in Houston Mission Control.

(INCO - INstrument & Communication Officer - The man in Houston Mission Control Center who is responsible for operating the Shuttle payload bay, and robotic arm, cameras. He also remotely operates the helmet cameras in space suits. In the case of ISS, this officer is referred to as the CATO - Communications And Tracking Officer. In both cases, these persons CONTROL everything which is PERMITTED to go out on broadcast to the public. It is a commonly believed falacy that the cameras are operated by Astronauts & Cosmonauts on the Shuttles, and Space Station. Very little camera work is done by the crews. They're way too busy for that.)

At the end of the day, it's up to YOU to draw your own conclusions.

© 2006 Jeff Challender