Soyuz TMA-4
Soyuz TMA -4 is the mission name for the flight of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). It was the eighth visit of a Soyuz spacecraft at the ISS and the 114th flight in Sojusprogramm.
Crew
Start crew
- Gennady Ivanovich Padalka ( second space flight), Commander ( Roskosmos Roscosmos / Russia Russia)
- Edward Michael Fincke ( first space flight), flight engineer ( National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA / United States United States)
- André Kuipers ( first space flight), flight engineer (European Space Agency ESA / Netherlands The Netherlands)
Backup crew
- Salis Chan Schakirowitsch Sharipov, Commander ( Roskosmos Roscosmos / Russia Russia)
- Gerhard Thiele, Flight Engineer (European Space Agency ESA / Germany Germany )
- Leroy Chiao, flight engineer ( National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA / United States United States)
Return crew
- Gennady Ivanovich Padalka ( second space flight), Commander ( Roskosmos Roscosmos / Russia Russia)
- Edward Michael Fincke ( first space flight), flight engineer ( National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA / United States United States)
- Yuri Georgijewitsch Shargin (1st space flight), flight engineer ( Roskosmos Roscosmos / Russia Russia)
Mission overview
This flight was a crew exchange mission to the ISS and the 24th manned flight to the station. The working on the Space Station Expedition 8 was replaced by the crew of Expedition 9. It consisted of Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka (commander ) and the American Edward Fincke ( Flight Engineer ). Additionally, flew with the Dutch ESA astronaut André Kuipers, who returned with the Soyuz TMA -3 landing capsule to Earth after a short stay Station on 30 April 2004.
The launch took place at a carrier rocket Soyuz -FG type from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 14 October 2004 at 03:06:00 UTC clock.
The two spacemen Padalka and Fincke worked as 9 skeleton crew on the ISS and conducted scientific experiments. In addition, they received supplies by two Progress cargo spacecraft.