While it looks identical to the earlier Soyuz-TM on the outside, the spacecraft features several changes to accommodate requirements requested by NASA to better service the International Space Station.

[1] The most important difference are the anthropometric changes, primarily in the form of new adjustable crew couches that allowed shorter, taller, lighter and heavier passengers to ride in the spacecraft.

The forepart of the spacecraft is the orbital module ((in Russian): бытовой отсек (BO), Bitovoy otsek) also known as Habitation section.

The convention of orientation in zero gravity differs from that of the descent module, as cosmonauts stand or sit with their heads to the docking port.

The reentry module ((in Russian): спускаемый аппарат (СА), Spuskaemiy apparat (SA)) is used for launch and the journey back to Earth.

At one meter above the ground, solid-fuel braking engines mounted behind the heat shield are fired to give a soft landing.

One of the design requirements for the reentry module was for it to have the highest possible volumetric efficiency (internal volume divided by hull area).

Ballistic reentries are hard on the occupants due to high deceleration and can't be steered beyond their initial deorbit burn.

The ship also has a system of low-thrust engines for orientation, attached to the intermediate compartment ((in Russian): переходной отсек, Perekhodnoi Otsek (PkhO)).

The spacecraft is turned engine-forward and the main engine is fired for de-orbiting fully 180° ahead of its planned landing site.