# Soyuz TMA

**Soyuz TMA** is a version of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, in service since 2002, that carried crews to and from the [International Space Station](https://www.edgepedia.org/international-space-station) (ISS) and served as the station's crew return vehicle, acting as a lifeboat in case an emergency required the crew to leave the station.<sup>[1](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition25-26-presskit.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition12-presskit.pdf)</sup> It replaced the earlier [Soyuz TM](https://www.edgepedia.org/soyuz-tm), and its first flight was the Odissea mission to the ISS.<sup>[3](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Odissea)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition25-26-presskit.pdf)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Role | ISS crew return vehicle, or "lifeboat"; a new capsule is normally delivered every six months, replacing the older one already docked<sup>[2](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition12-presskit.pdf)</sup> |
| Service entry | In use since 2002, replacing the Soyuz TM; first flown on the Odissea mission<sup>[1](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition25-26-presskit.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Odissea)</sup> |
| Structure | Three modules: Orbital Module, Descent Module, and Instrumentation/Propulsion (Service) Module<sup>[2](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition12-presskit.pdf)</sup> |
| Habitable volume | Orbital Module 6.51 m³; Descent Module 3.99 m³<sup>[4](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20170001764/downloads/20170001764.pdf)</sup> |
| Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, atop a Soyuz rocket<sup>[2](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition12-presskit.pdf)</sup> |
| Main changes from TM | Increased safety, especially in descent and landing; new accelerometer and software, modified boosters for added mass, and a new cooling system<sup>[1](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition25-26-presskit.pdf)</sup> |
| Cockpit innovation | The integrated control console, based on computer and information technology, first appeared in the Russian crewed program in the Soyuz-TMA information display system<sup>[5](https://arxiv.org/abs/1308.3924)</sup> |

## Role at the International Space Station

At least one Soyuz remains docked to the ISS at all times so that the crew can return to Earth in an emergency.<sup>[6](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-the-soyuz-spacecraft-grade-5-8/)</sup> A new Soyuz capsule is normally delivered by an arriving crew every six months, replacing the older capsule already docked, and the returning crew departs in the older vehicle.<sup>[2](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition12-presskit.pdf)</sup> The spacecraft launches from the [Baikonur Cosmodrome](https://www.edgepedia.org/baikonur-cosmodrome) in [Kazakhstan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kazakhstan) aboard a Soyuz rocket, and the rendezvous with the station can take about six hours.<sup>[2](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition12-presskit.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-the-soyuz-spacecraft-grade-5-8/)</sup>

The Orbital Module can also be used for limited cargo transport to the ISS and as a disposal container once undocked.<sup>[7](https://wsn.spaceflight.esa.int/docs/Factsheets/35%20Soyuz%20LR.pdf)</sup>

## Structure

The Soyuz TMA consists of three modules.<sup>[2](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition12-presskit.pdf)</sup>

**Orbital Module.** A spherical pressurized vessel used by the crew during free flight in orbit, with about as much interior room as a large van. Its front carries the docking mechanism, the hatch, and the rendezvous antennas; a rear hatch connects it to the Descent Module.<sup>[7](https://wsn.spaceflight.esa.int/docs/Factsheets/35%20Soyuz%20LR.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-the-soyuz-spacecraft-grade-5-8/)</sup> Its habitable volume is 6.51 m³.<sup>[4](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20170001764/downloads/20170001764.pdf)</sup>

**Descent Module.** The middle section where the crew sits during launch and landing and where the spacecraft controls are located; it is the only module that returns to Earth.<sup>[6](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-the-soyuz-spacecraft-grade-5-8/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/The_Russian_Soyuz_spacecraft)</sup> Its habitable volume is 3.99 m³.<sup>[4](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20170001764/downloads/20170001764.pdf)</sup>

**Instrumentation/Propulsion Module.** The rear section housing the life support systems, batteries, solar panels, and steering engines.<sup>[6](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-the-soyuz-spacecraft-grade-5-8/)</sup>

After undocking and the deorbit maneuver, the Orbital Module separates from the Descent Module and burns up during re-entry, as does the service module; only the Descent Module, protected by its heat-resistant covering, survives to land.<sup>[2](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition12-presskit.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://wsn.spaceflight.esa.int/docs/Factsheets/35%20Soyuz%20LR.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/The_Russian_Soyuz_spacecraft)</sup>

## Changes from the Soyuz TM

The TMA was introduced in 2002 and increased safety, especially during descent and landing.<sup>[1](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition25-26-presskit.pdf)</sup> Before flight, the changes had already been verified elsewhere: boosters altered to handle the TMA's extra weight, along with the new accelerometer and its software, were flown aboard [Progress](https://www.edgepedia.org/progress-spacecraft-epmxgrymsj), the uncrewed cargo craft, and two Soyuz TM missions carried trials of the redesigned cooling system.<sup>[1](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition25-26-presskit.pdf)</sup>

Inside the cabin, the TMA introduced the integrated control console (ICC), the first use in the Russian crewed space program of a control panel based on computer and information technology, replacing earlier panel types built around multi-channel control and command-information compression.<sup>[5](https://arxiv.org/abs/1308.3924)</sup>

A later operational change removed routine crew workload: on the TM and early TMA vehicles, Mission Control in Moscow had to periodically power up the Soyuz computers to downlink a partial set of vehicle health parameters, and in an emergency undocking and deorbit the crew had to manually input the undocking and deorbit data. A new system eliminated these checks by transferring the necessary data automatically from the space station to the [Soyuz](https://www.edgepedia.org/soyuz-spacecraft).<sup>[1](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition25-26-presskit.pdf)</sup>

## Later variants and service record

The TMA was followed by the modernized Soyuz TMA-M, flown by ESA astronaut André Kuipers with crewmates Oleg Kononenko and Don Pettit, and later versions continued the same three-module layout.<sup>[9](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/PromISSe/Facts_about_the_Soyuz)</sup> TMA-class vehicles such as Soyuz TMA-18M, which docked at the ISS Poisk module in September 2015, continued regular crew rotations through the 2010s.<sup>[10](https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2015/09/04/soyuz-crew-docks-delivering-new-science-to-station/)</sup>

## References

1. [Expedition 25/26 Press Kit, NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition25-26-presskit.pdf)
2. [Expedition 12 Press Kit, NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/expedition12-presskit.pdf)
3. [Odissea, ESA](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Odissea)
4. [Soyuz TMA habitable volumes, NASA NTRS (20170001764)](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20170001764/downloads/20170001764.pdf)
5. [Analysis and Synthesis of a Subsystem of the Manual Control Loop for Manned Spacecraft, arXiv:1308.3924](https://arxiv.org/abs/1308.3924)
6. [What Is the Soyuz Spacecraft? (Grades 5-8), NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-the-soyuz-spacecraft-grade-5-8/)
7. [The Soyuz-TMA Spacecraft, ESA factsheet](https://wsn.spaceflight.esa.int/docs/Factsheets/35%20Soyuz%20LR.pdf)
8. [The Russian Soyuz spacecraft, ESA](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/The_Russian_Soyuz_spacecraft)
9. [Facts about the Soyuz, ESA](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/PromISSe/Facts_about_the_Soyuz)
10. [Soyuz Crew Docks Delivering New Science to Station, NASA (2015)](https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2015/09/04/soyuz-crew-docks-delivering-new-science-to-station/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Spaceflight › Spacecraft and mission dynamics › Crewed spacecraft › Soyuz spacecraft*

*Initially written Oct 15, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license