Soyuz TMA-15

Soyuz TMA-15 launched from Baikonur Site 1/5 on May 27, 2009 UTC and docked with the International Space Station on May 29. The spacecraft carried Roscosmos commander Roman Romanenko, ESA flight engineer Frank De Winne, and Canadian Space Agency flight engineer Robert Thirsk to the station for Expeditions 20 and 21. Their arrival marked the start of permanent six-person ISS crew operations, joining Gennady Padalka, Michael Barratt, and Koichi Wakata already aboard. De Winne later became the first ESA astronaut to command the station during Expedition 21. Soyuz TMA-15 undocked on December 1, 2009 UTC and landed north-northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, returning the same three crew members after about 188 days in space.