This is the second in the series, following from the first about craft that take astronauts (or cosmonauts) to space. This article focuses on the rockets – comparable to an automobile or jet engine – which propels the craft into space.
The Rocket
The spacecraft will be launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The vehicle uses refined kerosene and liquid oxygen as fuel and can deliver payloads of more than seven tonnes – about the weight of a small lorry – into orbit.
The Soyuz-TMA spacecraft, which carries the crew, sits atop the launcher – covered by a protective shroud, or fairing
Launch and Docking
Crew members enter the spacecraft two-and-a-half hours before launch to prepare it. At T-minus zero (that is, at take off), the four boosters and core engine ignite, propelling the rocket into the air. About two minutes into the flight, the four booster rockets are separated from the craft.
The core stage keeps firing, until it too separates at about 4 minutes 48 seconds after launch. A third stage engine then propels the Soyuz to its desired orbit at an altitude of some 220km. During the nine-minute sequence, crew members have to withstand forces up to three-and-a-half times their body weight.
The spacecraft then has to perform five engine burns in order to catch up with the ISS. This generally takes six hours.
Docking with the Space Station is controlled by a computer on the spacecraft. It keeps track of the positions of the Soyuz and ISS using measurements from mission control here on earth, and a radar system called Kurs. However, crew members closely monitor the process and have the ability to intervene or take over manual control if required.
During the final approach, a docking probe on the end of the Soyuz inserts into a cone on the ISS. Once “capture” is confirmed, the docking probe retracts, bringing the two vehicles together. A series of hooks and latches then close over, securing the Russian capsule to the ISS.
Once a tight seal is confirmed, the air pressure in the Soyuz is equalised with that of the ISS and the hatch is opened, so the new arrivals can enter the station.
Quick Facts about the Baikonur Cosmodrome
- It is the world’s first operational space launch centre, built by the Soviet Union in the late 1950s.
- It is located on the sparsely populated desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about 200km east of the Aral Sea
- Baikonur was the launch site for the world’s first satellite, Sputnik 1, along with the first human mission – Vostok 1
- A purpose-built city supports the launch facility – formerly Leninsk, it was renamed Baikonur in 1995.
- Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Russian continued to lease Baikonur from the Kazakh government
See Also: The Space Craft that Takes Astronauts to Space and Back (1)
