TMA-01 - 4" - Stewart Aviation

Soyuz TMA-1a. was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle with a Russian-Belgian cosmonaut crew blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. This was the fifth Russian Soyuz class shuttle to fly to the International Space Station. It is also the first flight of the TMA-class Soyuz spacecraft. Soyuz TM-34 was the last of the prior Soyuz-TM spacecraft to be launched.

 

The Soyuz is a three-seat spacecraft is to transport astronauts to the ISS and then there will always be one attached to the ISS for a rescue vehicle for the crew of the outpost. The onboard resources and properties of propellant loaded in the reentry capsule of the Soyuz limit safe operation of the craft in space to six months; thus, Russia committed to fly a new or refurbished Soyuz to the ISS every six months to replace the previous one. These missions to replace the Soyuz at the ISS became known as "taxi" flights.

 

This patch was produced by Stewart Aviation as this patch didn't actually go up on the mission.