science

Soyuz TMA-15M

Soyuz TMA-15M is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Soyuz TMA-15M rather than just read about it. In short: Soyuz TMA-15M was a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 42 crew to the International Space Station.

Key takeaways

Soyuz TMA-15M belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Soyuz TMA-15M to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Soyuz TMA-15M from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Soyuz TMA-15M was a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 42 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-15M was the 124th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, the first flight launching in 1967. The Soyuz remained docked to the space station for the Expedition 43 increment, serving as an emergency escape vehicle until departing and returning to Earth as scheduled in June 2015. The European segment of the mission was called "Futura".

Crew

Backup crew

Mission highlights

Launch, rendezvous and docking Soyuz TMA-15M launched successfully aboard a Soyuz-FG rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 21:01 UTC on Sunday, 23 November 2014. The spacecraft reached low Earth orbit approximately nine minutes after lift-off. After executing rendezvous maneuvers, the Soyuz docked with the International Space Station at 02:49 UTC on 24 November, with hatch opening occurring at 05:00 UTC. Soyuz TMA-15M was scheduled to remain docked to the ISS—serving as an emergency escape vehicle, planned to be on-board until May 2015. The landing was delayed until June 2015, when it was set to depart and return Shkaplerov, Cristoforetti and Virts to Earth. Cristoforetti commemorated the spaceflight by gifting three Lego minifigures of herself, Virts and Shkaplerov to the other members of the Expedition 42 crew. They had been commissioned by ESA and built by a British custom Lego kitmaker.

Undocking and return to Earth Soyuz TMA-15M accidentally fired its engines one day before undocking. The one minute burn slightly shifted ISS position. Soyuz TMA-15M undocked from the ISS at 10:20 UTC on 11 June 2015, containing Shkaplerov, Cristoforetti, and Virts. Following a deorbit burn, the Soyuz spacecraft's descent module reentered the Earth's atmosphere. The crew landed safely in Kazakhstan at 13:44 UTC on 11 June, just over three hours after departing the ISS.

Gallery

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Soyuz TMA-15M

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Soyuz TMA-15M claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Soyuz TMA-15M before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Soyuz TMA-15M ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Soyuz TMA-15M

In research: Soyuz TMA-15M appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Soyuz TMA-15M in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Soyuz TMA-15M is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2014 in Russia, Crewed Soyuz missions, Human spaceflights to the International Space Station, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Soyuz TMA-15M outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Soyuz TMA-15M in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Soyuz TMA-15M means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Soyuz TMA-15M out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Soyuz TMA-15M in simple terms?

Soyuz TMA-15M was a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 42 crew to the International Space Station.

Why does Soyuz TMA-15M matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Soyuz TMA-15M?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Soyuz TMA-15M.