Not to be confused with Soyuz T-2, Soyuz TM-2, Soyuz TMA-2, Soyuz TMA-02M, or Soyuz 2.

Soyuz MS-02 was a 2016 Soyuz spaceflight that was planned for a 23 September 2016 launch, but because of technical difficulties it launched on 19 October 2016.[2][3] It transported three members of the Expedition 49 crew to orbit and docked with the International Space Station. Soyuz MS-02 was the 131st flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. The crew consisted of a Russian commander and flight engineer, as well as an American flight engineer.[4][5] Soyuz MS-02 docked with Poisk (MRM-2) module on 21 October 2016.[6]

Soyuz MS-02 returned to Earth on 10 April 2017.[7] During its descent, the capsule was partially depressurized when the main parachute deployed. The landing occurred at 11:20 UTC. The total flight duration was 173 days.

Partial depressurization

During the final stage of its descent, Soyuz MS-02 suffered a partial depressurization[8] about eight kilometers above the ground. When the main parachute was deployed, a buckle that was part of the deployment system struck a welding seam, partially depressurizing the capsule. The depressurization did not put the crew in danger as they were at a relatively safe height within the atmosphere when it occurred. Russian officials believe that the way the parachute was packed caused the buckle to strike the capsule.

Crew

Position[9] Crew Member
Commander Russia Sergey Ryzhikov, Roscosmos
Expedition 49
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1 Russia Andrei Borisenko, Roscosmos
Expedition 49
Second and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2 United States Shane Kimbrough, NASA
Expedition 49
Second spaceflight

Backup crew

Position[10] Crew Member
Commander Russia Alexander Misurkin, Roscosmos
Flight Engineer 1 Russia Nikolai Tikhonov, Roscosmos
Flight Engineer 2 United States Mark T. Vande Hei, NASA

References

  1. ^ a b "Afternoon Soyuz Touchdown Caps Half-Year Space Mission for Russian-American Crew Trio". spaceflight101.com. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. ^ Derek Richardson (17 September 2016). "Soyuz MS-02 Launch Postponed for Technical Reasons". spaceflightinsider.com. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  3. ^ Ben Evans. "50th Long-Duration Crew Launches to Space Station". AmericaSpace. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  4. ^ Sarah Lewin (19 October 2016). "Liftoff! Soyuz Rocket Launches US-Russian Space Station Crew Into Orbit". Space.com. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft docks with Expedition 49/50 crew". nasaspaceflight.com. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft docks with Expedition 49/50 crew". nasaspaceflight.com. 21 October 2016.
  7. ^ Garcia, Mark (12 February 2015). "Expedition 50". NASA. Retrieved 16 March 2017. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ "Soyuz capsule suffered partial depressurization during April landing". spacenews.com. SpaceNews. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  9. ^ Планируемые полёты (in Russian). astronaut.ru. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  10. ^ astronaut.ru (2015). "Планируемые полёты" (in Russian).