Soyuz TMA

Mission Profile

Soyuz TMA is a modernized variant of the Soyuz crewed spacecraft, featuring a redesigned descent module interior and updated flight computers to accommodate non-Russian crew members who were taller or shorter than the original Soyuz anthropometric requirements. First flown on 30 October 2002, it served as the primary crew transport vehicle to the International Space Station until being succeeded by the Soyuz TMA-M in 2010. Soyuz TMA carried astronauts and cosmonauts on 22 missions over eight years, providing a critical bridge during the period when the Space Shuttle was grounded after the Columbia disaster. Its enhanced crew accommodation standards were essential for the international partnerships that define the ISS program.