Image: NASA / Roscosmos, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Soyuz TMA-11
Mission Profile
| Launch date | 2007-10-10 |
|---|---|
| Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome, Site 1/5 |
| Launch vehicle | Soyuz-FG |
| Spacecraft | Soyuz-TMA 11F732 (No. 221) |
| Target | Low Earth Orbit |
| Type | Crewed |
| End date | 2008-04-19 |
| Duration | Spacecraft 191 days; Shukor's flight 10 days 21 hours |
| Partners | Roscosmos, NASA, Angkasawan programme (Malaysia) |
Overview
Soyuz TMA-11 carried the Expedition 16 crew — commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA's Peggy Whitson, the first woman to command the ISS — together with spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, who became the first Malaysian in space. Flying under his nation's Angkasawan programme, the orthopaedic surgeon ran experiments on cancer cells, microbes and protein crystals, and observed Ramadan in orbit, prompting Malaysian clerics to issue guidance on prayer in microgravity. Shukor returned after nine days aboard the older Soyuz TMA-10. The TMA-11 vehicle itself stayed docked for six months and brought Malenchenko, Whitson and South Korea's first astronaut Yi So-yeon home in April 2008 — a descent marred by a violent ballistic re-entry when a separation bolt failed, landing the capsule some 475 km off target. All three crew survived.
Crew
Yuri Malenchenko
Commander
Roscosmos; Expedition 16 commander; landed aboard TMA-11 in April 2008
Peggy Whitson
Flight Engineer
NASA; first woman to command the ISS; landed aboard TMA-11
Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor
Spaceflight Participant
Angkasawan programme (Malaysia); first Malaysian in space; returned after 9 days aboard Soyuz TMA-10
Yi So-yeon
Spaceflight Participant (landing crew)
KARI (South Korea); first Korean in space; launched on TMA-12 and landed aboard TMA-11
Key Milestones
2007-10-10
Launch from Baikonur Site 1/5 at 13:22 UTC; Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor becomes first Malaysian in space
2007-10-12
Docked to the ISS Zarya module, delivering Expedition 16
2007-10-21
Shukor returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-10 after nine days in orbit
2008-04-19
TMA-11 landed after an off-nominal ballistic re-entry, ~475 km off target, with Malenchenko, Whitson and Yi So-yeon
Key Achievements
Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor became the first Malaysian citizen in space
Delivered Expedition 16, commanded by Peggy Whitson — the first woman to command the ISS
Returned the capsule that brought home Yi So-yeon, South Korea's first astronaut
Survived a rare off-nominal ballistic re-entry caused by a failed separation bolt
