Soyuz TMA (descent module)

The TMA variant appeared for international crews: the Kazbek couches were reworked for heights from 150 to 190 centimetres and the panel received a new computer. The headlamp shape gives a small amount of lift and allows a guided descent at about 4 g instead of a ballistic 8–9. The flight profile is thoroughly proven: docking on the Kurs system, nominal return after three to six months, landing on the Kazakh steppe under parachute with soft-landing engines firing a metre above the ground. The charred base and dents in the hull are marks of a real landing. The module was transferred to the museum after a long-duration expedition crew returned; the couches and stowage remain inside.