Docking of Soyuz MS-20 | |
Names | ISS 66S |
---|---|
Mission type | Crewed mission to ISS, Space tourism |
Operator | Roscosmos |
COSPAR ID | 2021-119A |
SATCAT no. | 49922 |
Mission duration | 11 days, 19 hours and 34 minutes (achieved) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Soyuz MS No.752 Altair |
Spacecraft type | Soyuz MS |
Manufacturer | RSC Energia |
Crew | |
Crew size | 3 |
Members | |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 8 December 2021, 07:38:15 UTC[1][2] |
Rocket | Soyuz-2.1a |
Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome, Site 31 |
Contractor | Progress Rocket Space Centre |
End of mission | |
Landing date | 20 December 2021, 03:13 UTC |
Landing site | Kazakh Steppe,[a] Kazakhstan |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Inclination | 51.66° |
Docking with ISS | |
Docking port | Poisk zenith |
Docking date | 8 December 2021, 13:40:44 UTC |
Undocking date | 19 December 2021, 23:50:30 UTC |
Time docked | 11 days, 10 hours and 9 minutes |
Maezawa, Misurkin and Hirano |
Soyuz MS-20 was a Russian Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) on 8–20 December 2021.[1] Unlike previous Soyuz flights to the ISS, Soyuz MS-20 did not deliver any crew members for an ISS Expedition or serve as a lifeboat for any crew members on board the station. Instead, it was commanded by a single professional cosmonaut and carried two space tourists represented by company Space Adventures, which had executed eight space tourism missions to the ISS in 2001–9.[4][5] The flight to reach the ISS took six hours.[6]
Alexander Misurkin, a veteran of two long duration missions to the ISS, commanded the Soyuz, modified to allow it to be flown by a sole cosmonaut.
Position | Crew member | |
---|---|---|
Commander | ![]() Visiting Third and last spaceflight | |
Spaceflight participant 1 | ![]() Visiting First spaceflight | |
Spaceflight participant 2 | ![]() Visiting First spaceflight |
Position | Crew member | |
---|---|---|
Commander | ![]() | |
Spaceflight participant 1 | No back-up | |
Spaceflight participant 2 | ![]() |
For some time, it was speculated that Austrian airline pilot Johanna Maislinger would be one of the tourists, but on 13 May 2021, Space Adventures confirmed that Japanese billionaire, art collector and space enthusiast Yusaku Maezawa had acquired both seats, the other for his production assistant Yozo Hirano. This was the first time two Japanese launched to space together.[7]
In July 2021, Space Adventures Moscow Office changed their previous story and said that Maislinger had never had access to the funds she had claimed, and they had never treated her as a serious candidate.[8]
It was also reported in April 2021 that Japanese entertainer Yumi Matsutoya was to fly on Soyuz MS-20 with Maislinger.[9]