Since 1 November 2000, the International Space Station has been manned continuously. At 11:04 PM CDT 30 September 2005 (04:04 1 October GMT), Soyuz. TMA-7 lifted off atop a Starsem rocket booster from Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After nine minutes of powered flight, ISS Expedition 12 reached orbit and was on its way toward rendezvous and docking with the space station some two days later. Aboard were Soyuz Commander and Expedition 12 Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev, Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, and the world's third space tourist Gregory Olsen.

Docking with ISSy took place on 3 October at 12:27 AM CDT (05:27 GMT). Following routine safety checks, hatches between the two spacecraft were opened at 3:36 AM CDT (08:36 GMT). Expedition 11 crewmen Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips offered the traditional Russian welcoming ceremony of bread and salt to the new arrivals.

For eight days, the two crews and Greg Olsen worked together. Olsen carried out his own list of scientific experiments during his time aboard. After the transition week was over, Expedition 11 undocked and departed ISS in their Soyuz TMA-6 vehicle. They landed safely, along with space tourist Greg Olsen, back in Kazakhstan on 10 October 2005 at 8:09 PM CDT (01:09 11 October GMT).

During their six month stay on ISSy, McArthur and Tokarev carried out two EVAs (Extra-Vehicular Activity or spacewalk), a wide variety of science experiments, and managed ongoing maintenance of the orbiting complex.

The first EVA of the flight was conducted in US spacesuits from the Quest airlock on 7 November 2005. The second Expedition 12 EVA was carried out in Russian Orlan suits from the PIRS docking and airlock compartment on 3 February 2006. Both spacewalks were considered a success.

The 13th Expedition Crew to ISS lifted off in their TMA-8 .Soyuz Vehicle, atop the venerable Starsem booster, from Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 29 March 2006 at 8:39 PM CST (02:39 30 March GMT). The crew of the Soyuz consisted of Russian Commander Pavel Vinogradov, US Flight Engineer Jeffrey Williams, and Brazil's first Astronaut Marcos Pontes.

For eight days, the two crews and Marcos Pontes worked together. Pontes carried out his own list of scientific experiments during his time aboard. After the transition week was over, Expedition 12 undocked and departed ISS in their Soyuz TMA-7 vehicle. They landed safely, along with Brazilian Marcos Pontes, back in Kazakhstan on 8 April 2006 at 5:47 PM CDT (23:47 GMT). The 12th Main Expedition to ISSy was completely successful, reaching every goal set for it. One aspect which set this mission apart was the openness of its crew. Commander McArthur and Engineer Tokarev gave tours of the station, explained how systems functioned, and allowed the public to view their holiday celebrations.

During the re-entry phase of the flight of TMA-7, Jeffrey Williams, US Astronaut and member of the Expedition 13 crew, filmed Soyuz with a hand held camera as it descended through the atmosphere.

I had my VCR running, but was not at home, and didn't view the tape at that time. Sharp eyed Brad in Los Angeles California saw the live broadcast, and recorded it. He noticed something in the re-entry video which caught his attention. He contacted me to ask if I'd seen

the event. I must admit being caught totally unawares. To put it all in a nutshell, with Brad's kind help, the video was located in my archive and finally posted to the web. Thanks to Brad in L.A., the film and its anomalies were not lost and forgotten.

This page is dedicated to showing you a fine example of how Soyuz looks when returning to Earth at 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 km/h). The anomalies are presented separately. I strongly urge you to see that page, as one of the anomalous objects comes very close to actually colliding with Soyuz TMA-7 descent module! We also include here a unique view of Soyuz burning its way though the atmosphere just at dawn over Earth below. It's a pretty spectacular sight too.

In the sequence, we can see the two modules which were jettisoned by the crew before they went into the final phase of re-entry. These are the "Orbital" and "Instrument" modules. In the animated GIF to come, you can see them burn up in the atmosphere. We can also observe the "Descent" module continue on its journey through the atmosphere as it brakes its speed. Later on, it deployed its parachute for a soft landing northeast of Arkalyk Kazakhstan.

This NASA map, shows most of Kazakhstan, the location of Baykonur Cosmodrome, and the spot where Soyuz TMA-7 landed safely.

This is a very cold place in April, with temperatures below freezing in the pre-dawn hours when the landing took place.

Seen circled in yellow is the Soyuz descent module. This is where the three men are located in relative comfort to the flaming disintigration of the orbital and instrament modules they left behind.

The two discarded modules are pointed out for you as well.

The words below are a direct quote from the NASA commentator's description of the re-entry of Soyuz TMA-7. This description was broadcast live on 8 April 2006 as the actual re-entry was in progress.

Transcript of NASA Commentator's Words

NASA Commentator: "As The plasma builds up around the descent module, during the...during the entry phase, typically there is a tough period of time to communicate with the crew. The module is, uh, beginning to feel the effects of the err, upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere as it makes its descent toward landing. The maximum G-force is felt in about six minutes or so, are between four and five gees just before the parachutes beging to systematically deploy to slow the vehicle significantly. The main 'chute will orient the spacecraft into a landing position, and just prior to touchdown, the retrograde rockets will fire to soften the landing even further."

End Transcript

This is the "piece de resistance" of our brief look at the Soyuz re-entry. It is a beautiful sight, isn't it?

Rather spectacular how the discarded modules burn, eh? Note the explosions as various pressurized containers and spaces burst from the heat.

We hope that our little foray into Soyuz operations, and side trip into the "nuts and bolts" operations of ISSy, has been educational and enjoyable. Most people never witness such things as we presented on this page. Thanks for taking the time to have a look.

For those interested, another page on Soyuz re-entry is available at Project P.R.O.V.E. This is the descent of Soyuz TMA-4.

Once again, I simply MUST thank "Brad from L.A." for his sterling contribution in discovering this event. Had it not been for his eagle eye, none of us would have ever seen it. We all owe him a round of applause for his great work.

THANKS BRAD!!

***

These docking videos were recorded by ISS Expedition 13 Flight Engineer Jeffrey Williams, operating a hand-held camera through a window of ISSy. It is rare that Astronauts and Cosmonauts operate the video equipment, but it does happen on occasion. The video recording was broadcast six days after the fact (14 April 2006) 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