The special purpose simulators of the Soyuz vehicle rendezvous and docking (Don-Soyuz TMA and Don-Soyuz TMA2) are aimed at acquiring and practicing cosmonaut skills in controlling transport spacecraft and its systems while rendezvous, berthing, flying-around, docking and undocking as well as exercising emergency evacuation of ISS crew aboard two vehicles simultaneously (simulators work together). Crews may monitor the situation outside the vehicle through all optical and television monitoring assets while training in Don-Soyuz simulators, including a blister illuminator of a habitation module for the purpose of training flight-engineer to work with the detachable equipment during simulating far phase of manual rendezvous with ISS.

Each simulator comprises:

• operator workstation - the mock-up of Soyuz spacecraft pressurized compartments;
• systems for visual surrounding simulation;
• object interface unit;
• simulation of the space-to-ground communication system;
• computer system;
• custom software.

While training cosmonauts acquire the following skills:

• Soyuz-TMA spacecraft control in nominal, off-nominal and emergency manual modes of rendezvous, approach, fly-around, docking, undocking, and undocking from International Space Station;
• monitoring of Soyuz-TMA transport vehicle automatic rendezvous and docking with  International Space Station as well as switching to the manual control if necessary;
• operations with cosmonaut’s console of a descent module;
• operations with controls of the cosmonaut’s visor;
• execution of two transport vehicles simultaneous undocking mode;
• execution of the Blister mode as part of the joint training.