Soyuz TMA-20

Mission Profile

Overview

Soyuz TMA-20 delivered ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli to the ISS for his six-month MagISStra mission, alongside Russian commander Dmitri Kondratyev and NASA's Catherine Coleman. At 188 cm, Nespoli is believed to be the tallest person ever to fly a Soyuz, requiring a custom-contoured seat liner to fit the cramped descent module. The Italian engineer-astronaut turned his stay into a public storytelling project, sharing imagery and live links from orbit. His defining moment came at departure: as Soyuz TMA-20 undocked in May 2011, Nespoli photographed the docked Space Shuttle Endeavour against the station and Earth during STS-134 — the only images ever captured of a shuttle joined to the ISS from a separate spacecraft. The crew served across Expeditions 26 and 27 before a night landing on the Kazakh steppe.

Crew

Key Milestones

1. 2010-12-15

   Launch from Baikonur Site 1/5 at 19:09 UTC aboard a Soyuz-FG

2. 2010-12-17

   Docked to the Rassvet module, joining Expedition 26

3. 2011-05-23

   Nespoli photographed Shuttle Endeavour docked to the ISS during fly-around after undocking

4. 2011-05-24

   Landed near Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan after 159 days in space

Key Achievements

• Flew ESA's MagISStra long-duration mission for Italy's Paolo Nespoli

• Captured the only photographs of a Space Shuttle (Endeavour) docked to the ISS taken from a departing spacecraft

• Carried the tallest crew member believed to have flown aboard a Soyuz, using a custom seat liner

Related Missions

Sources

1. Wikipedia — Soyuz TMA-20
2. ESA — MagISStra Soyuz flights