First digital Soyuz flies

The Russian manned space program reached a milestone on 8 October 2010, when a Soyuz-FG rocket lifted off from Baikonur Cosmo­drome’s launch pad 1 with the first operational example of the upgraded Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft. The prime crew included Russian cosmonauts Alexander Kaleri (commander), Oleg Skripochka (flight engineer), and also NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (flight engineer). The Russian cosmonauts, who are also test pilots of Energia Rocket and Space Corporation, were entrusted with commencing flight development tests on the new spacecraft.
The launch, insertion and autonomous orbital flight went off without a hitch. On October 10 the spacecraft automatically docked to the International Space Station (ISS). After the pressure was equalized and all necessary procedures were observed, the Soyuz crew entered the station. Kaleri, who had previous experience on Soyuz TMA vehicles, commented that the new digital equipment made the spacecraft easier and more comfortable to pilot. "There are some minor defects but we are not test cosmonauts for nothing," Kaleri said. "It is our job to perfect new equipment."
Energia started developing the new Soyuz several years ago. The spacecraft looks the same on the outside, but inside it has been radically overhauled: 36 obsolete analog systems have been replaced with digital equivalents for improved performance.
Instead of the old analog Argon-16 computer, the upgraded spacecraft’s guidance, navigation and control system is built around the all-new TsVM-101 computer, which has 12 times better processing power and 1,000 times larger RAM size than its predecessor, weighs eight times less and consumes six times less electricity. After the new computer has been tested and further upgraded, it may also be used on a new-generation manned space transportation system currently under development at Energia.
The upgraded guidance, navigation and control system features five new instruments, with a total weight of 42 kg, replacing six obsolete ones which together weighed some 101 kg. The system’s overall electricity consumption has been reduced from 402 W to 105 W.
The instrumentation system now comprises 14 new instruments weighing a total of 28 kg, replacing 30 original pieces with a combined weight of 70 kg. The system has also become more compact and requires some 35% less electricity to run.
Improvements have also been introduced in telemetry, thermal control and other systems. The re-entry module software has been upgraded, and the design of the docking interfaces and the spacecraft in general has been improved.
The upgraded vehicle is entirely based on Russian components and technologies. It weighs 70 kg less than the baseline, making possible further improvement of its performance and functionality.
The idea to upgrade the Soyuz-TM with digital instrumentation first emerged back in the 1990s as part of the Soyuz-TMM and -TMS projects, but at that time there was not enough money to see it through. Funding reappeared in the mid-2000s, when the Roscosmos Federal Space Agency commissioned a corresponding development effort. A sizeable volume of testing on the new digital instruments for the Soyuz TMA-M was carried out using re-supply vehicles of the Progress 400 series. The first such digital craft, the Progress M-01M, was launched on 26 November 2008.
Before the Soyuz TMA-M enters into service, two prototypes (Soyuz TMA-01M and -02M) will be involved in flight development testing; the third spacecraft — Soyuz TMA-03M — will be used for the qualification tests. Notably, throughout the testing program the new Soyuz model will be used in scheduled flights towards the ISS.