Soyuz TMA-8 Launched

[ace5]

Soyuz TMA-8 was launched successfully carrying the 13th Expedition to the International Space Station - Pavel Vinogradov and Jeffrey Williams - and the first Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Cesar Pontes.<br />We Brazilians are very proud of Pontes, our astronaut!

 

[jamie_young]

They've already got the full launch video which you can download on site here:<br />http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/content/?id=4400

 

[dreada5]

Another effortless launch...really got to hand it to the Russians! They make it look easy <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[tap_sa]

Very smooth ride. If it wasn't for the dangling bear and strange suits one would think the launch video showed three ordinary couch potatoes chilling out watching TV (with broken remote since one used stick to change the channel). Couldn't see shaking even in the loose paper sheets those guys where holding. Quite a contrast to the violent shaking Shuttle crew seems to get (thanks to SRBs?).

 

[ace5]

Pontes came from a city named Bauru, and certainly there is a lot of commemorations over there because he is on the way to the ISS. A screen was mounted in his family´s house so relatives & friends could see Soyuz being launched!<br />I built a new (1/62) Soyuz TMA and (1/100) 11A511U rocket scale models and I will show them in a Commercial Fair here in my city next weekend. I will post pictures of them later.

 

[ace5]

<<It almost looked like Jeff Williams was doing a cross word puzzle during ascent! >><br /><br />Yes, S_G, it was funny! <br />They were very calm, as they were just checking the logbooks referring to the ascent stages, and certainly checking each phase of launch with a mark. It seemed that the G-forces were not so heavy at all in a Soyuz launch!<br /><br />Interesting: Did you see the pre-launch procedures?<br />They close their Sokol KV-2 airtight by simply putting the the suit and sealing the internal bladder by rolling the rubber-based fabric and holding it with a kind of rope!!<br />The white Sokol outer cover is then zipped to fasten the assembly and to give the external shape. Ingenious.<br /><br />Very nice to see our nations (the US, Russia and Brazil) together in this flight!

 

[lbiderman]

Ace5, do you have any news on the re-start of the VLS program? I know that there is some cooperation between the AEB and CONAE from Argentina for a rocket engine, but I don't know more than that. It will be nice if our both countries can work together on space.

 

[yurkin]

With any luck the success of this mission should re-invigorate the Brazilian space program. Finally get the VLS operational and maybe play a bigger role in international science missions.

 

[SpaceKiwi]

What accounts for the violent shaking produced by the SRB's in a Shuttle launch? Is it simply the sheer amount of thrust being produced, or doesn't the solid burn in a 'smooth' or 'regular' manner? Kind of like a car engine backfiring, except speed up many times so as to make the 'backfiring' almost instantaneous? <br /><br />EDIT<br /><br />Congrats to Brazil, btw, another nation joins the club. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

I believe it is because there are two produces the vibration. I have heard it said that the vibration on a single stick launch will be much smoother.<br /><br />Jon<br /><br />PS Yes, congratulations to Brazil. They have worked very hard for this, I hope we see them move on to even better things in th next decades.<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[tap_sa]

<font color="yellow">"What accounts for the violent shaking produced by the SRB's in a Shuttle launch? "</font><br /><br />I guess it's mainly because those SRBs are basically two <i>giant</i> combustion chambers. Even during nominal burn very strong pressure oscillation can occur in the chamber shaking the case and anything connected to it, in Shuttle's case the ET which conveys the rough vibration to the Orbiter. Big reaction chambers are problematic no matter what they burn. Saturn V engineers had great trouble getting F-1 to be stable. The Russians solved the problem of big reaction chambers in a very Russian way; don't have them. Have single turbopump feeding many smaller chambers, like in the Soyuz rocket, which has total of 20 chambers firing during liftoff (plus 12 verniers!).

 

[ace5]

We are more concentrated in the recovery of Alcantara Launch Site for VLS and Cyclone 3 launchers.<br />Versions of VLS upgraded with Ukrainian technology are in the evaluation stages.<br />I think that Argentina and Brazil both have budget problems, but we are working in unified payloads for VS-30 rockets and satellites (Sabia 3-Type). The pace for any international cooperation related to designing our own rockets is too slow due to these problems. <br /><br />I translated a Portuguese text to English. Sorry for the errors, due to the Altavista fast translator!<br /><br />"JC email 2580, of 06 of August of 2004. <br /> Brazil extends space projects with Argentina <br /> <br />The project between Brazil and Argentina for the development of the Sat?te Argentine-Brazilian of Informa?s on Foods, gua and Environment (Sabia3) must avan? inside of the pr?mos months. Discuss? around the device they had been retaken h?ouco more than one year with optimistical perspectives<br /><br />according to assessor of Cooperates? The International of Ag?ia Brazilian Espacial (AEB), entailed autarchy to the MCT, Carlos Campelo, the on t?ico group to the project must finish in 30 days a document that ser?ntregue?utoridades of?a space.<br /><br />If on the other hand the Sabia3 walks for its continuity, for another one, had waked up others quest? relative?oopera? bilateral in reuni?entre representative governmental on?rea of espa?ocorrida the this week in Buenos Aires.<br /><br />It had preliminary agreement with rela? ?ealiza? of tests of sat?tes Argentine SAC-C and SAOCOM in instala?s of the National Institute of Space Research (Inpe), and tamb?pelo interc?io of images for cient?cos ends between the CBERS-2 and the SAC-C was decided.<br /><br />In the agenda of pr?mas a?s between Brazil and Argentina still meets the lan?ento of Argentine cient?cos experiments in the sounding rocket VS-30, developed for Centro T?ico Espacial (CTA), exactly ve?lo disponibilizado Brazilian?universidades and institui?

 

[ace5]

Soyuz TMA 7 undocked from ISS and is returning to Earth with Tokarev, McCartur and Pontes onboard.<br />NASA TV has showed the flawless undocking manoeuvre of TMA 7 from the Zvezda aft port. <br />The TMA-7 descent vehicle will be given to Brazil as a gift from the Russian Federation. I cant wait for see it here!!!