Soyuz TMA-21 crew (L-R): Ronald Garan, Aleksandr Samokutyavey, Andrei Borisenko
Soyuz TMA-21, launched April 4, 2011, carried members of Expedition 27 to the International Space Station. Its crew consisted of Commander Aleksandr Samokutyayev, Andrey Borisenko, and Ronald Garan (NASA). They participated in Expeditions 27-28, before returning to Earth in September 2011.
Aleksandr Samokutyayev, born March 13, 1970 in Penza, Russia, has been into space twice.
His first flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-21 as commander to the International Space Station in April 2011. He participated in Expeditions 27 and 28. During Expedition 28, he conducted an EVA with fellow cosmonaut Sergey Volkov for 6 hours 23 minutes. He returned to Earth in September 2011.
His second mission was aboard Soyuz TMA-14M as commander to the International Space Station in September 2014. He participated in Expeditions 41 and 42, during which he conducted a second EVA with fellow cosmonaut Maksim Surayev. He returned to Earth in March 2015.
Ronald Garan, Jr., born October 30, 1961 in Yonkers, New York, is a veteran of two space flights.
His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-124) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May-June 2008. He conducted three EVAs during the mission with fellow astronaut Michael Fossum.
His second and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-21 as Flight Engineer to the ISS in April 2011. He participated in Expeditions 27 and 28. He conducted an EVA with Fossum in July 2011. He returned to Earth in September 2011.
Paolo Nespoli, born April 6, 1957 in Milan, Italy, is a veteran of three trips into space.
His first trip was aboard Discovery (STS-120) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in October-November 2007. He conducted science research as part of his mission for the European Space Agency.
His second mission was aboard Soyuz TMA-20 in December 2010 to the ISS where he participated in Expeditions 26 and 27. He returned to Earth in May 2011.
His third trip was aboard Soyuz MS-05 in July 2017 to the ISS where he participated in Expeditions 52 and 53. He returned to Earth in December 2017.
He has spent over 313 days in space. He retired in 2019.
Catherine "Cady" Coleman, born December 14, 1960 in Charleston, South Carolina, has been into space three times. She received a B.S. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in polymer science and engineering from University of Massachusetts.
Her first trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-73) as mission specialist in October-November 1995.
Her second trip was aboard Columbia (STS-93) as mission specialist in July 1999. The main objective of this mission was the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.
Her third and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-20 launched in December 2010 to the International Space Station. She was part of Expeditions 26 and 27. She returned to Earth in May 2011.
Andrey Borisenko, born April 17, 1964 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, has spent almost a year in space total aboard the International Space Station.
His first mission into space was as Flight Engineer on Soyuz TMA-21 (Gagarin) launched in April 2011 as part of Expeditions 27 and 28. It was devoted to the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic first manned space mission. He returned to Earth with his fellow astronauts September 16, 2011. During re-entry, communications with the crew were lost and caused concern on the ground, but the crew landed safely. A cause for the communications lost has not been determined.
His second and most recent mission was on Soyuz MS-02 as Flight Engineer, launched October 19, 2016 as part of Expeditions 49 and 50. He returned to Earth April 10, 2017. During re-entry, the capsule experience partial depressurization when a buckle that was part of the deployment system struck a welding seam. Fortunately, this happened about 8 km (4.8 miles) above ground, so they were at a relatively safe altitude.
