RSC Energia Statement about the return to Earth of Expedition Six to ISS

The crew of Expedition Six to the International Space Station (ISS) – NASA
astronauts Kenneth Bowersox (Commander), Donald Pettit (Flight Engineer) and
Russian cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin (Flight Engineer, test cosmonaut of RSC
Energia) – returned to Earth in the Descent Vehicle (DV) of Soyuz TMA-1
spacecraft upon completion of a 162-day mission plan.

Soyuz TMA-1 undocked from the Docking Compartment/Module Pirs of the ISS
Russian Segment on May 4, 2003 at 2 hours 43 minutes Moscow Time on control
commands from the Mission Control Center near Moscow (MCC-M). As a result of
a retro burn performed by the spacecraft propulsion system which was started
at 5 hours 12 minutes, the spacecraft return trajectory was established. In
accordance with the nominal descent profile, at 5 hours 40 minutes the DV
separated from the orbital module and the instrumentation/propulsion module
of the spacecraft. At 5 hours 43 minutes the spacecraft entered the Earth
atmosphere. During descent in the atmosphere, the DV Descent Control System
issued the command to descend following a ballistic trajectory. The causes
for the DV switching to the ballistic descent mode are being analyzed by a
special commission set up by the Designer General of S.P.Korolev RSC
Energia, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yu.P.Semenov. The
commission is doing a comprehensive analysis of the spacecraft systems
operation, crew and MCC-M actions based on the results of the telemetry data
processing.

The descent vehicle of Soyuz TMA-1 landed at 6 hours 7 minutes (to be
updated) in an area located near the town of Turgai, Republic of Kazakhstan.
The coordinates of the landing site are 49°37’48” North and 61°20’36” East.
The DV parachuted and soft-landed in accordance with the nominal operational
profile of the landing system.

Initially, the major forces of the search and rescue team were concentrated
in the target landing area for the controlled descent located more than 400
km away from the point where the DV landed in ballistic descent mode. In
connection with this, the search for the DV took more time than was
originally planned. Prompt redirection of the search and rescue assets
allowed to spot the descent vehicle at 8 hours 21 minute. Commander of Soyuz
TMA-1 Nikolai Budarin opened the DV hatch at 8 hours 35 minutes and at 9
hours 46 minutes the crew got out of the DV, establishing radio
communications with the search team and MCC-M. At 10 hours 45 minutes two
MI-8 helicopters landed near the descent vehicle. Evacuation of the crew and
the DV from the landing site was carried out according to the nominal plan.
At 18 hours 40 minutes the crew arrived at Chkalovsky airfield by an
airplane of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

Present at MCC-M during the operations of the final phase of the Soyuz TMA-1
mission and at Chkalovsly airfield were: for the Russian side – Director
General of Rosaviakosmos Yu.N.Koptev, the Technical Manager of the Russian
manned programs, Designer General of S.P.Korolev RSC Energia, a member of
the Russian Academy of Sciences Yu.P.Semenov, members of the State
Commission (Co-chairmen: state secretary, first deputy general director of
Rosaviakosmos N.F.Moiseev, deputy director general of TsNIIMash V.A.Grin),
the head of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center Colonel General
P.I.Klimuk, representatives of Rosaviakosmos, leading specialists of RSC
Energia, and of Russian companies and organizations participating in the ISS
program; for the US side – NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe, Deputy Chief of
Mission to Russia John R. Beyrle, representatives from NASA management; as
well as representatives from the European Space Agency, family and relatives
of the crew of ISS-6.

The tasks of Expedition ISS-6 have been successfully accomplished. The
manned transportation spacecraft Soyuz TMA-1, which stayed docked to the ISS
for 186 days as the crew rescue vehicle, has been replaced with Soyuz TMA-2,
which delivered to the space station the crew of Expedition Seven (ISS-7)
consisting of a Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko (Commander) and NASA
astronaut Edward Lu (Flight Engineer).

The combined international crew of the space station during the joint
six-day mission replaced the seat liners in Soyuz TMA-1 and Soyuz TMA-2,
rehearsed the operations of emergency evacuation from the space station and
return to Earth, conducted scientific experiments and research, stowed into
Soyuz TMA-1 the total of 50 kilograms of cargoes to be returned to Earth
containing the results of research under Russian, US and Japanese programs.
The ISS-6 crew performed the necessary medical studies and physical
exercises needed to prepare them for their descent from orbit.

The spacecraft of the Soyuz TMA series have been developed by the
S.P.Korolev RSC Energia in cooperation with subcontractors in the Russian
rocket and space industry. The spacecraft are a modification of the manned
Soyuz-type spacecraft designed for operation under the ISS program.
Soyuz TMA-1 flight during its return to Earth was controlled by the Lead
Operations Control Team (LOCT) located in MCC-M (the Flight Director is
cosmonaut V.A.Soloviev) and working in cooperation with specialists from the
US Mission Control Center (Houston).

The space station continues its flight in a near-Earth orbit with orbital
inclination of 51.65°, maximum and minimal altitudes of 412.6 and 388.3 km,
respectively, and orbital period of 92.3 minutes.

At present the space station with the mass of about 179.6 tons operates in
the configuration consisting of: the Functional Cargo Module (FGB) Zarya,
Service Module Zvezda, Docking Compartment/Module Pirs, manned spacecraft
Soyuz TMA-2, logistics vehicle Progress M-47 (Russian segment), modules
Unity, Destiny, Quest air-lock and a large multi-sectional truss structure
carrying solar panels (US segment).

The crew of Expedition ISS-7 continue to work in orbit according to the
mission plan. This crew is scheduled to be rotated in the course of the
Soyuz TMA-3 mission, which is slated for launch in the fall of 2003.

Key data on Soyuz TMA spacecraft can be found on the internet on the RSC
Energia web site at:
www.energia.ru/english/energia/iss/soyuz-tma/soyuz-tma.html.