SOYUZ-TMA 21

SOYUZ-TMA 21 is no longer on orbit
SOYUZ-TMA 21 is classified as:

NORAD ID: 37382

Int'l Code: 2011-012A

Launch date: April 4, 2011
Source: Commonwealth of Independent States (former USSR) (CIS)
Launch site: TYURATAM MISSILE AND SPACE COMPLEX (TTMTR)
Decay date: 2011-09-16

The Soyuz TMA-21—which has been nicknamed "Gagarin" to honor the cosmonaut's historic flight of April 12, 1961—launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in Central Asia at 6:18 p.m. EDT today (April 4; 4:18 a.m. April 5 local time). The spacecraft lifted off from the same launch pad used for Gagarin's historic flight nearly 50 years ago. The "Gagarin" is carrying two cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut. They'll reach the station on Wednesday evening (April 6 EDT), joining three spaceflyers already aboard the orbiting lab. The "Gagarin" Soyuz was originally set to launch March 29, but a glitch with its radio communications system pushed the flight back to April 4. The launch today appeared to go off without a hitch. The spacecraft's three crewmembers will round out the current Expedition 27 crew aboard the space station, and they'll stay on beyond that mission as part of Expedition 28. NASA astronaut Ron Garan and cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev will be flight engineers on both expeditions. Cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko will serve as a flight engineer on Expedition 27, then transition to the role of Expedition 28 commander. All three spaceflyers—and the "Gagarin"—will stay at the space station until September, when they'll come back down to Earth. They'll therefore be aboard the orbiting lab for the last two flights of NASA's space shuttle program, which are set to launch toward the station this April and June.