Soyuz TMA-M

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Soyuz TMA-M is a Russian crew spacecraft built by Energia for Roscosmos to carry people to the International Space Station (ISS). It is an updated version of the Soyuz, designed for low Earth orbit and for stays of up to six months docked to the ISS. Introduced in 2010, the TMA-M replaced older equipment with a new digital computer (TsVM-101) and digital avionics, and it changed the structure by using aluminum instead of magnesium in the instrument module. These changes reduced the spacecraft’s mass by about 70 kg and cut power usage.

Two early flights tested the new design: TMA-01M on 7 October 2010 and TMA-02M on 7 June 2011. A third test flight, TMA-03M, launched on 21 December 2011. After testing, the TMA-M entered regular service for crew rotations and cargo missions to the ISS. From 2012 to 2016 it flew 20 more missions, for a total of 23 missions. Each flight carried three astronauts: usually two Russians and one American, with some flights including astronauts from Europe, Canada, or Japan.

In 2016 the TMA-M was retired and replaced by the Soyuz MS. During its service, it was the only spacecraft capable of carrying people to the ISS, and it used ride-sharing arrangements with other space agencies.