1.
International Space Station
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The International Space Station is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest man-made body in space, the ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arrays, and other components. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, the ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields. The station is suited for the testing of systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon. The ISS maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 and 435 km by means of reboost manoeuvres using the engines of the Zvezda module or visiting spacecraft and it completes 15.54 orbits per day. The ISS is the space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz. The station has continuously occupied for 16 years and 156 days since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000. This is the longest continuous presence in low Earth orbit. It has been visited by astronauts, cosmonauts and space tourists from 17 different nations, Soyuz has very limited downmass capability. The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies, NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, the ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station is divided two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment and the United States Orbital Segment, which is shared by many nations. As of January 2014, the American portion of ISS is being funded until 2024, Roscosmos has endorsed the continued operation of ISS through 2024 but has proposed using elements of the Russian Orbital Segment to construct a new Russian space station called OPSEK. On 28 March 2015, Russian sources announced that Roscosmos and NASA had agreed to collaborate on the development of a replacement for the current ISS. NASA later issued a statement expressing thanks for Russias interest in future co-operation in space exploration. According to the original Memorandum of Understanding between NASA and Rosaviakosmos, the International Space Station was intended to be a laboratory, observatory and factory in low Earth orbit. It was also planned to provide transportation, maintenance, and act as a base for possible future missions to the Moon, Mars. In the 2010 United States National Space Policy, the ISS was given roles of serving commercial, diplomatic. The ISS provides a platform to conduct scientific research, the ISS simplifies individual experiments by eliminating the need for separate rocket launches and research staff
2.
Soyuz TMA-18
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Soyuz TMA-18 was a 2010 Soyuz flight to the International Space Station. TMA-18 was the 105th manned flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since the first manned flight in 1967, spacecraft commander Skvortsov occupied the center seat of the Soyuz TMA-18 with Kornienko on his left and Caldwell Dyson on the right. The launch was perfect and the only experienced communications difficulties shortly after launch. The communication problem made it impossible for the Russian mission control officials to communicate with the crew until after they reached the preliminary orbit, however, a live on-board television camera clearly showed the crew was safe. After 9 minutes, the Soyuz spacecraft settled into an orbit of 143 miles by 118 miles. It also deployed antennas and solar arrays for power generation, the spacecraft spent the following two days orbiting the Earth gradually closing in on the ISS. Prior to the systems testing and integration of the rocket. In February 2010 specialists at the RSC-Energia and Yuzhny Space Center tested the Kurs docking support system, autonomous tests of the Soyuz TMA-18 crew vehicle systems were also successfully completed at the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the integrated tests of the rocket commenced at site 254. Filling station was prepared for further tanking of the Soyuz propulsion system by propellant components ad pressurized gases, in early March, containment tests on Soyuz TMA-18 were carried out at the vacuum chamber facility. Specialists from the TSKB-Progress in Samara and Yuzhny Space Center started assembling and testing of the Soyuz-FG rocket, integration of the second stage and pneumatic tests of the first stages units were performed on 16 March. The Soyuz TMA-18 primary and backup crews arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 21 March and they arrived in two Tu-134 air planes. The Soyuz tanking was completed on 23 March and the spacecraft was returned to site 254, on 31 March the Soyuz FG rocket carrying the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft was rolled out from the integration and test facility and was erected at launch pad 1. On 4 April 2010, three ahead of schedule, Soyuz TMA-18 successfully docked to the Poisk module on the ISS at 5,25 UTC. Shortly after the initial contact automatic closing of Soyuz & MRM2 port hooks, as part of docking preparations, earlier attitude control authority had been handed over to the Russian Motion Control System at approximately 3,10 UTC. The control was returned to US CMG control at approximately 6,50 UTC, for the docking, the Russian thrusters were disabled during Soyuz volume pressurization and clamp installation and afterwards returned to active attitude control. Before hatch opening, the crew performed checks of the Soyuz modules. They then removed their Sokol suits, and Kornienko set them, after about 1 hour 45 minutes spent in Soyuz on pre-transfer activities, hatches were opened at 7,21 UTC and the crew transferred to the ISS. A welcome ceremony for the new arrivals followed hatch opening with family members, Skvortsov also installed the quick disconnect clamps of the docking & internal transfer mechanism to firm the joint
3.
Soyuz TMA-19
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Soyuz TMA-19 was a manned spaceflight to the International Space Station and is part of the Soyuz programme. It was launched June 15,2010 carrying three members of the Expedition 24 crew to the International Space Station, who remained aboard the station for six months. TMA-19 was the 106th manned flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, since the first mission which was launched in 1967, the spacecraft remained docked to the space station for the remainder of Expedition 24, and for Expedition 25, to serve as an emergency escape vehicle. It undocked from ISS and landed in Kazakhstan on the November 26,2010 and it was the 100th mission to be conducted as part of the International Space Station programme since assembly began in 1998. The Soyuz TMA-19 crew was confirmed by NASA on November 21,2008, the mission Commander is Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency, who is making his third spaceflight. The other two members are Shannon Walker and Douglas H. Wheelock of the United States National Aeronautics. TMA-19 is Wheelocks second spaceflight, and Walkers first, Soyuz TMA-19 was launched by a Soyuz-FG carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch occurred successfully on June 15,2010, with the rocket lifting off at 21,35 UTC, after its separation from the last stage of the Soyuz-FG rocket, Moscow Mission Control Center began controlling the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft. Nine minutes into the ascent, the spacecraft settled into an orbit of 200.16 by 259.16 km with the inclination 51.62 degrees toward the Equator. The Soyuz spacecraft successfully deployed the solar arrays for power generation, telemetry data received from the Soyuz confirmed that the spacecraft was performing nominally. Prior to launch, assembly of the rocket and spacecraft had been underway for several months, the Soyuz-FG rocket arrived at Baikonur on March 11,2010, along with a Soyuz-U which was slated to launch Progress M-06M. The spacecraft itself was shipped from Korolyov on April 16,2010, upon delivery, the spacecraft was moved to Site 254. On June 11,2010, final inspections of the spacecraft were conducted, the next day, the upper composite was integrated with the upper stage of the rocket that was to launch it, and subsequently the launch escape system. This assembly work took place at Site 112 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, once this was complete, the upper stage was attached to the remainder of the rocket in the MIK. A State Commission met of June 12 to approve rollout, which was authorised, rollout to the launch pad began at 01,00 UTC on June 13,2010, with the rocket departing the MIK propelled by a locomotive. Rollout lasted around two hours, with the rocket travelling 2 kilometres from the MIK to the launch pad, the winner and runner-up in the patch design competition were present to observe the rollout. Rollout operations were completed by 05,00 UTC, when the rocket was erected on the launch pad, Soyuz TMA-19 docked with the International Space Station on June 17 2010at 22,25 UTC. It docked with the aft port of the Zvezda module, ahead of docking, the ISS handed over attitude control to the Russian Orbital Segment at 19,00 UTC, and at 19,17 maneuvered to provide an optimum attitude for docking
4.
Aleksandr Skvortsov (cosmonaut)
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Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Skvortsov is a Russian cosmonaut. He has had two spaceflights, which were long-duration missions aboard the International Space Station and his first spaceflight took place from April to September 2010, and was launched with the spacecraft Soyuz TMA-18. He arrived at the station part way through Expedition 23, of which Oleg Kotov was the Commander, when Expedition 24 began in June, Skvortsov became Commander. Skvortsov is married to Elena Georgievna Skvortsova and they have one daughter, Anna Aleksandrovna Skvortsova, born in 1990. His father is Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Skvortsov, born in 1942 and his mother is Nina Ivanovna Skvortsova, skvortsovs hobbies include diving, soccer, badminton, fishing, hunting, and tourism. He is also an underwater diving and powered paragliding instructor. Skvortsov graduated from the Stavropol Air Force Pilot and Navigator School as pilot-engineer in 1987, currently he is working towards a law degree at the Russian Academy of Civil Service. Skvortsov flew L-39, MiG-23 and Su-27 aircraft as a pilot, senior pilot, Skvortsov has logged around 1000 hours of flight time. He is a Class 1 Air Force pilot, a qualified diver, Skvortsov completed basic space training from January 1998 to November 1999. He was qualified as a test-cosmonaut in November,1999, starting January 2000 he was in International Space Station advanced training. In March 2008, Skvortsov was assigned to the Expedition 21/22 backup crew as a flight engineer, Skvortsov served as a Flight Engineer for the International Space Station on Expedition 23. He traveled to the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-18 along with fellow Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko and he celebrated his 44 birthday in space aboard the ISS on May 6,2010. Skvortsov was the commander of the ISS Expedition 24, at the traditional Change of Command ceremony held on May 31,2010, aboard the ISS Expedition 23 commander Oleg Kotov handed over his duties to Skvortsov. Following a normal descent, the Soyuz crew landed at 5,23 a. m, GMT near Arkalyk, Kazakhstan on September 25. After returning to Earth and sharing his experiences to an audience, Skvorsov said I love spicy food, I finished off all the spicy ketchup stock on the ISS and shocked everyone by making and eating wasabi sandwiches. Thats my fuel, as good as a rockets, Skvortsov returned to space aboard Soyuz TMA-12M, along with Oleg Artemyev and Steven Swanson, as a flight engineer on the Expedition 39 crew. The mission launched on March 25,2014, and landed on September 11,2014 and this article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
5.
Mikhail Kornienko
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Mikhail Borisovich Kornienko is a Russian cosmonaut. Kornienko served as an engineer on the International Space Station during Expedition 23/24 and was selected along with Scott Kelly for a year long mission aboard the ISS. Kornienko began the long mission in March 2015, blasting off on Soyuz TMA-16M Kornienko was born in Syzran, Kuybyshev Oblast. He is married to Irina Kornienko, a physician and his father, Boris G. Kornienko, a military pilot, perished in an Mi-6 helicopter crash in October 1965. His mother, Faina M. Kornienko born in 1931 is retired, Kornienko graduated from secondary school No. From 1981 to 1987 he studied at the Moscow Aviation Institute named after S. Ordzhonikidze, upon graduation from school in 1977, he worked at a radio equipment plant in Chelyabinsk, Russia. In May 1978, Kornienko was called to service in the Soviet Army and he served in the paratrooper forces in Kirovobad, Azerbaidzhan, the USSR. In May 1980, he completed his service with the rank of a junior sergeant. Kornienko worked for the Moscow Militia from 1980–1986, at the same time he attended the evening Department of Moscow Aviation Institute. Upon graduation in 1987 from the institute, he was qualified as a liquid propellant rocket engines mechanical engineer and he resigned from the Militia in 1986 and entered a mechanical engineering design bureau. During 1986 to 1991 Kornienko worked in the Baikonur Launch Facility as an equipment specialist. He worked for companies between late 1991 to early 1995. From October 1991 to December 1992 he was the OOO Transvostok Technical, from January 1993 to April 1995 he was the LLC ESTE General Director. In October 1995, Kornienko started working at the Energia Rocket/Space Corporation as an engineer and he was assigned with developing technical documentation for cosmonaut primary and backup crew tests and training. He took part in EVA tests in simulated zero-gravity at the hydrolab, in the process of this work he acquired experience in organizing extravehicular repair/refurbishment and assembly activities on the Mir orbital station. He also directly participated in testing the Energia RSC production on the testing ground. On February 24,1998, Kornienko was selected as a test cosmonaut candidate and, in 1999, following training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Since 1999, he has trained in the International Space Station group and he served on the ISS Expedition 8 backup crew as a flight engineer
6.
Tracy Caldwell Dyson
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Tracy Caldwell Dyson is an American chemist and NASA astronaut. Caldwell Dyson was a Mission Specialist on Space Shuttle Endeavour flight STS-118 in August 2007 and she was part of the Expedition 24 crew on the International Space Station between April 4,2010 and September 25,2010. She has completed three spacewalks, logging more than 22 hrs of EVA including work to replace a malfunctioning coolant pump, during that time she also worked as an electrician/inside wireman for her father’s electrical contracting company doing commercial and light industrial type construction. At the University of California, Davis, Caldwell Dyson taught general chemistry laboratory and she also designed and built peripheral components for a variable temperature, ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy system. In 1997, Caldwell Dyson received the Camille and Henry Drefus Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Science to study chemistry at the University of California. In addition, she developed methods of chemical ionization for spectral interpretation of trace compounds, Caldwell Dyson has published and presented her work in numerous papers at technical conferences and in scientific journals. Selected by NASA in June 1998, Caldwell Dyson reported for training in August 1998, completion of this training and evaluation qualified her for flight assignment as a mission specialist. During ISS Expeditions 4 through 6, Caldwell Dyson also served as an ISS spacecraft communicator inside Mission Control, Caldwell Dyson also served as Lead CAPCOM for Expedition 11. Caldwell Dyson was assigned as Mission Specialist #1 on this flight, during the mission Endeavours crew successfully added another truss segment, a new gyroscope and external spare parts platform to the International Space Station. A new system that enables docked shuttles to draw power from the station to extend visits to the outpost was activated successfully. A total of four spacewalks were performed by three crew members, Endeavour carried some 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies to the station and returned to Earth with some 4,000 pounds of hardware and no longer needed equipment. Traveling 5.3 million miles in space, the STS-118 mission was completed in 12 days,17 hours,55 minutes and 34 seconds, finally, during the flight of STS-118, Caldwell Dyson celebrated her 38th birthday in space. On April 4,2010, Caldwell Dyson joined the Expedition 23 crew aboard ISS and she lifted off on April 2,2010 from the Baikonur spaceport aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule. After 176 days duty as part of the Expedition 24 crew, together with commander Aleksandr Skvortsov and flight engineer Mikhail Korniyenko, Dyson landed in Kazakhstan on September 25,2010. In a television interview on the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, as Tracy Dyson, she is the host of a series on NASA TV called StationLife, which focuses on facets of life aboard the International Space Station. She appeared on Episode 3 of MasterChef Junior Season 4, on March 21,2017, Dyson stood behind President Trump as he signed a bill for NASA to send humans to Mars in 2030s and receive $19.5 billion in 2018 funding. Dyson and fellow NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy presented Trump with a flight jacket during the ceremony. Her recreational interests include running, weight training, hiking, softball, basketball, as an undergraduate, she competed in intercollegiate athletics on the CSUF Titans track team as both a sprinter and long jumper
7.
Fyodor Yurchikhin
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Fyodor Nikolayevich Yurchikhin, is a Russian cosmonaut of Greek descent, engineer and RSC Energia test-pilot who has flown on four spaceflights. His first spaceflight was a 10-day Space Shuttle mission STS-112 and his second was a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station as a Flight Engineer for Expedition 15, for this mission he was launched in the Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft. He has undertaken two further long-duration stays aboard the ISS, as a member of Expedition 24 /25. For this mission he was launched with the spacecraft Soyuz TMA-19 and he served as Soyuz Commander for his fourth mission aboard Soyuz TMA-09M, as Flight Engineer for Expedition 36 and ISS Commander for Expedition 37. Yurchikhin was born in Batumi, Adjar ASSR, Georgian SSR on 3 January 1959 to Pontic Greek parents Nikolai Fyodorovich Yurchikhin, Yurchikhin is married to Larisa Anatolievna Yurchikhina and has two daughters. His hobbies include collecting stamps and space logos, sports, history of cosmonautics and he also enjoys reading history, science fiction and the classics. After graduation from school in Batumi in 1976, he entered the Moscow Aviation Institute named after Sergey Ordzhonikidze. He finished studying in 1983, and is qualified as a mechanical engineer, in 2001, he graduated from the Moscow Service State University with a Ph. D. in economics. Yurchikhin was one of five cosmonauts selected to raise the Russian flag at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, after graduating from the S. Ordzhonikidze Moscow Aviation Institute, Yurchikhin worked at the Russian Space Corporation Energia from September 1983 until August 1997. In August 1997, he was enrolled in the RSC Energia cosmonaut detachment as a cosmonaut-candidate, from January 1998 to November 1999, he completed his basic training course. In November 1999, he was qualified as a test cosmonaut, in January 2000, he started training in the test-cosmonaut group for the International Space Station program. Yurchikhin was a crewmember of the International Space Station assembly mission STS-112 conducted using Space Shuttle Atlantis, during the mission the shuttle crew conducted joint operations with the Expedition 5 by delivering and installing the S1 Truss. Three spacewalks were required to outfit and activate the new component, the crew also transferred cargo between the two vehicles and used the shuttles thruster jets during two maneuvers to raise the stations orbit. STS-112 was the first shuttle mission to use a camera on the External Tank, providing a view of the launch to flight controllers. The STS-112 mission was accomplished in 170 orbits, traveling 4.5 million miles in 10 days,19 hours, in 2007, he became a member of the Expedition 15 on the ISS. His flight began on April 7, when he launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, aboard Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft, together with Oleg Kotov, Yurchikhin was aboard when Simonyi gave a live telebridge conversation on Tuesday, April 17,2007. He served as the commander of the Expedition 15 mission, on October 21, he returned to Earth inside the Soyuz TMA-10 capsule after spending 196 days and 17 hours in space. The TMA-10 spacecraft undocked from the ISS at 07,14 UTC on October 21, during atmospheric re-entry, the spacecraft transitioned to a ballistic reentry, resulting in it landing west of Arkalyk, approximately 340 km northwest of the intended Kazakhstan landing site
8.
Shannon Walker
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Shannon Walker is an American scientist and a NASA astronaut, whose first space mission was Expedition 24 on the International Space Station with take-off on 15 June 2010. She is married to a fellow NASA astronaut, the Australian-born Andy Thomas and she is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and The Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots. Walker began her career with the Rockwell Space Operations Company at the Johnson Space Center in 1987 as a robotics flight controller for the Space Shuttle Program. She worked several Space Shuttle missions as a controller in the Mission Control Center, including STS-27, STS-32, STS-51, STS-56, STS-60, STS-61. From 1990 to 1993, Walker took a leave of absence from the Johnson Space Center to attend graduate school, in 1995 she joined the NASA civil service and began working in the International Space Station Program at the Johnson Space Center. Dr. Walker worked in the area robotics integration, working with the ISS International Partners in the design, in 1998 she joined the ISS Mission Evaluation Room as a manager for coordinating on-orbit problem resolution for the International Space Station. In 1999, Walker moved to Moscow, Russia to work with the Russian Space Agency and she returned to Houston in 2000 after a year in Russia and became the technical lead for the ISS MER as well as the Deputy Manager of the On-Orbit Engineering Office. Most recently, prior to selection as a candidate, Walker was the Acting Manager of the On-Orbit Engineering Office. Walker was selected by NASA as an Astronaut Candidate in May 2004, completion of this initial training qualifies her for various technical assignments within the Astronaut Office and future flight assignment as a mission specialist. In early September, she had visited Johnston Middle School, along with Parker, there, via TV, she spoke about dreams and education. She came back in early May, Walker was assigned as the backup Commander for ISS Expedition 22 and as a Flight Engineer on the crew of Expedition 25. Walker was launched to space from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 15 June 2010 in Soyuz TMA-19 and she returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-19 on November 25,2010. On September 19,2011, NASA announced that Walker would command the NEEMO15 undersea exploration mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory from October 17–30,2011, delayed by stormy weather and high seas, the mission began on October 20,2011. On the afternoon of October 21, Walker and her crew officially became aquanauts, NEEMO15 ended early on October 26 due to the approach of Hurricane Rina. On March 2017, NASA announced that Walker will train as backup for Joseph Acaba for Expedition 53/54 to the International Space Station, walkers recreational interests include cooking, soccer, running, weight training, flying, camping, and travel. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics, NASA Astronaut Bio, Shannon Walker Spacefacts biography of Shannon Walker
9.
Douglas H. Wheelock
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Douglas Harry Wheels Wheelock is an American engineer and astronaut. He has flown in space twice, logging 178 days on the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, on July 12,2011, Wheelock announced that he would be returning to active duty with the United States Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Douglas Wheelock was born in Binghamton, New York to Olin, in a pre-flight interview, Wheelock stated that he was inspired to become an astronaut at an early age. He also stated that a turning point in his life was the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969. In 1978 Wheelock graduated from Windsor Central High School in Windsor and he earned a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology in 1992. Wheelock spent four years as a cadet at West Point, graduating in the class of 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Science, after graduation he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U. S. Armys Infantry Branch and entered flight school the next year. In September 1984, then Lieutenant Wheelock graduated at the top of his class and was designated an Army Aviator. He was later assigned to the Aviation Directorate of Combat Developments as an Advanced Weapons Research and Development Engineer. Wheelock was selected as a member of Class 104 at the U. S. Naval Test Pilot School and his flight testing was focused in the areas of tactical reconnaissance and surveillance systems in the OH-58D, UH-60, RU-21 and C-23 aircraft. He served as Division Chief for fixed-wing testing of airborne signal and imagery intelligence systems in support of the National Program Office for Intelligence, while on active duty, Wheelock received a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1992. In August 1996 Wheelock was assigned to the Johnson Space Center as a Space Shuttle integration test engineer and his technical duties involved engineering liaison for launch and landing operations of the Space Shuttle. S. Army Command and General Staff College, in July 2011, Wheelock left for a tour of duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is scheduled to return in fall 2011, a dual-rated Master Army Aviator Astronaut, he has logged over 2,500 flight hours in 43 different rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. In August 1998 Wheelock reported for NASA Astronaut Candidate Training and he worked extensively with the Energia Aerospace Company in Moscow, Russia, developing and verifying dual-language procedures for ISS crews. Wheelock led joint U. S. /Russian teams to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to oversee bench reviews, inventory, loading and launch of the first four unmanned ISS resupply capsules. He was the contact for all crew needs, coordination, planning and interactions. In August 2002, Wheelock was assigned as a Spacecraft Communicator in the Mission Control Center in Houston, in this role, he was the primary communication link between crews on orbit and the ground support team in the Control Center. His work as a CAPCOM culminated in his assignment as the lead CAPCOM for the ISS Expedition 8 mission, in July 2004, Wheelock served as an aquanaut during the NEEMO6 mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory, living and working underwater for ten days
10.
Expedition 23
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Expedition 23 was the 23rd long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Expedition 23 began with the Soyuz TMA-16 undocking on 18 March 2010, shortly thereafter cosmonauts Aleksandr Skvortsov and Mikhail Korniyenko and astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson arrived at the Space Station on Soyuz TMA-18 on 4 April 2010. The Soyuz spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 00,04 EST on 2 April 2010 and it was the first ISS crew to include three Russians at once. The Expedition 23 crew continued outfitting the newest modules of the nearly completed space station, the crew welcomed the shuttle flight STS-131 in April 2010. The Expedition 23 crew also saw the arrival of the Rasvet Russian docking module aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-132 and this article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASAs Space Station Expeditions page Expedition 23 photography
11.
Expedition 25
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Expedition 25 was the 25th long-duration mission to the International Space Station. Expedition 25 began with the Soyuz TMA-18 undocking on 25 September 2010, three new crewmembers arrived aboard the ISS October 2010 on Soyuz TMA-01M to join Douglas Wheelock, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Shannon Walker, and formed the full six member crew of Expedition 25. NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock accepted command of Expedition 25 on 22 September 2010, the departure of Wheelock, Walker and Yurchikhin on 25 November 2010 marked the official end of Expedition 25. During Expedition 25 Progress M-08M spacecraft visited the ISS, docking with the station on 30 October 2010 bringing 2.5 tons of cargo supplies. Space shuttle Discovery on STS-133 mission was scheduled to arrive at the ISS on 3 November 2010 but was rescheduled for launch on 3 February 2011, the 10th anniversary of human life, work and research on the ISS fell during Expedition 25. On 2 November 2000, Expedition 1 Commander William Shepherd and Flight Engineers Sergei Krikalev, Expedition 25 ended on 26 November. Source NASA Andrei Borisenko - Commander Paolo Nespoli Catherine Coleman Anatoli Ivanishin Sergei Revin Ronald J. Garan, the Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft was mated to its booster in a processing facility for its rollout to the launch pad in Baikonur 5 October 2010. The Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft and booster rocket were moved to Launch Complex 5 at Baikonur Cosmodrome on a rail-car 5 October 2010 for final preparations prior to launch, Russian Federal Space Agency revealed that during Expedition 25 and 26,504 sessions of 41 experiments are planned to be implemented. The new experiments include, Molniya-Gamma, Sprut-2, UHF-radiometry, SLS, VIRU, Test, Progress M-08M spacecraft delivered about 2.5 tons of cargo supplies including water, air, fuel and hardware for the Russian Molniya-Gamma and Coulomb Crystal experiments to the station. The Soyuz-U carrier rocket with Progress M-08M, identified by NASA as Progress 40 or 40P, was launched from the Baikonurs Gagarins launch pad at 15,11,50 UTC on 27 October 2010. After three days of flight, at 16,36 UTC on 30 October 2010 Progress M-08M docked with the Pirs module nadir port. A problem during Progress approach to the station forced cosmonauts on the station to intervene. The switch to manual mode was decided at range of 194 m, kaleri worked inside the space stations Zvezda module to fly Progress M-08M remotely using television views and a pair of joysticks and guided it to the successful docking. ‡ denotes spacewalks performed from the Pirs docking compartment in Russian Orlan suits and this article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASAs Space Station Expeditions page Expedition 25 photography
12.
Roscosmos
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The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, commonly known as Roscosmos, is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of Russia and general aerospace research. The Corporation was established on the basis of the now-defunct Federal Space Agency on December 28,2015, Roscosmos was previously known as the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. The headquarters of Roscosmos are located in Moscow, while the main Mission Control space center is located in the city of Korolev. The Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center is in Star City, the Launch facilities used are Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and Vostochny Cosmodrome being built in the Russian Far East in Amur Oblast. The current Director since January 2015 is Igor Komarov, in 2015 the Russian government merged Roscosmos with the United Rocket and Space Corporation, the re-nationalized Russian space industry, to create the Roscosmos State Corporation. The Soviet space program did not have central executive agencies, instead, its organizational architecture was multi-centered, it was the design bureaus and the council of designers that had the most say, not the political leadership. The creation of a central agency after the separation of Russia from the Soviet Union was therefore a new development, Russian Space Agency was formed on February 25,1992, by a decree of President Yeltsin. Yuri Koptev, who had worked with designing Mars landers at NPO Lavochkin. In the early years, the agency suffered from lack of authority as the design bureaus fought to protect their own spheres of operation. For example, the decision to keep Mir in operation beyond 1999 was not taken by the agency, instead, another example is that the decision to develop the new Angara rocket was rather a function of Khrunichevs ability to attract resources than a conscious long-term decision by the agency. The 1990s saw serious financial problems because of decreased cash flow and this resulted in Roscosmos leading role in commercial satellite launches and space tourism. In March 2004, director Yuri Koptev was replaced by Anatoly Perminov, the Russian economy boomed throughout 2005 from high prices for exports, such as oil and gas, the outlook for future funding in 2006 appeared more favorable. The budget for 2006 was as high as 25 billion rubles, under the current 10-year budget approved, the budget of the Space Agency shall increase 5–10% per year, providing the space agency with a constant influx of money. In addition to the budget, Roscosmos plans to have over 130 billion rubles flowing into its budget by other means, such as industry investments and it is around the time US-based The Planetary Society entered a partnership with Roscosmos. In 2011, the government spent 115 billion rubles in the space programs. The proposed project core budget for 2013 to be around 128.3 billion rubles, the budget for the whole space program is,169.8 billion rubles. By 2015, the amount of the budget can be increased to 199.2 billion rubles, priorities of the Russian space program include the new Angara rocket family and development of new communications, navigation and remote Earth sensing spacecraft. The GLONASS global navigation system has for many years been one of the top priorities and has been given its own budget line in the federal space budget
13.
NASA
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower established NASA in 1958 with a distinctly civilian orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29,1958, disestablishing NASAs predecessor, the new agency became operational on October 1,1958. Since that time, most US space exploration efforts have led by NASA, including the Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station. Currently, NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for unmanned NASA launches. NASA shares data with various national and international such as from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite. Since 2011, NASA has been criticized for low cost efficiency, from 1946, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics had been experimenting with rocket planes such as the supersonic Bell X-1. In the early 1950s, there was challenge to launch a satellite for the International Geophysical Year. An effort for this was the American Project Vanguard, after the Soviet launch of the worlds first artificial satellite on October 4,1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. This led to an agreement that a new federal agency based on NACA was needed to conduct all non-military activity in space. The Advanced Research Projects Agency was created in February 1958 to develop technology for military application. On July 29,1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, a NASA seal was approved by President Eisenhower in 1959. Elements of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and the United States Naval Research Laboratory were incorporated into NASA, earlier research efforts within the US Air Force and many of ARPAs early space programs were also transferred to NASA. In December 1958, NASA gained control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA has conducted many manned and unmanned spaceflight programs throughout its history. Some missions include both manned and unmanned aspects, such as the Galileo probe, which was deployed by astronauts in Earth orbit before being sent unmanned to Jupiter, the experimental rocket-powered aircraft programs started by NACA were extended by NASA as support for manned spaceflight. This was followed by a space capsule program, and in turn by a two-man capsule program. This goal was met in 1969 by the Apollo program, however, reduction of the perceived threat and changing political priorities almost immediately caused the termination of most of these plans. NASA turned its attention to an Apollo-derived temporary space laboratory, to date, NASA has launched a total of 166 manned space missions on rockets, and thirteen X-15 rocket flights above the USAF definition of spaceflight altitude,260,000 feet. The X-15 was an NACA experimental rocket-powered hypersonic research aircraft, developed in conjunction with the US Air Force, the design featured a slender fuselage with fairings along the side containing fuel and early computerized control systems
14.
Mikhail Tyurin
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Mikhail Vladislavovich Tyurin is a Russian cosmonaut. Michael Tyurin lives in Korolev, a city outside Moscow. He was born March 2,1960, in Kolomna, Russia where his parents still reside and he is married to Tatiana Anatoleyvna Tyurina. They have a daughter, Alexandra, born in 1982 and he enjoys sailing in his free time. He graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute in 1984 with a degree in engineering and he is currently doing graduate work in his field of research. After graduating from the Aviation Institute he began working at the Energia corporation as an engineer, the main subjects of his job have been dynamics, ballistics, and software development. His personal scientific research is connected with the aspects of cosmonauts training for the manual control of spacecraft motion. Tyurin was awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation medal, in 1994 he was selected to begin cosmonaut training, and in 1998 he started training as a flight engineer for the Expedition 3 crew. He also served as a crew member for the first ISS mission. Tyurin lived and worked aboard the International Space Station as part of the Expedition 3 crew, Space Shuttle Discovery carrying Tyurin and six other crewmembers on STS-105 mission blasted off to space from the Kennedy Space Center on August 10,2001. The shuttle docked with the ISS on 12 August at 18,41 UTC, Tyurin spent approximately 4 months aboard the station as Flight Engineer 1. During the long duration mission The Expedition 3 crew enjoyed a view of the 2001 Leonid meteor storm. At the end of the stay Expedition 3 crewmembers, NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson, Tyurin, endeavours STS-108 mission delivered the Expedition 4 crew to the ISS and landed at KSC on December 17,2001. The spacecraft docked with the ISS on September 20 at 05,21 UTC following two days of autonomous flight. Tyurin served as the Soyuz commander, and after docking with the ISS they exchanged with the resident crew on board ISS and became the station crew. Tyurin spent 215 days aboard the International Space Station as a Flight Engineer, the Soyuz TMA-9 capsule carrying Tyurin, Lopez-Alegria and spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi landed southwest of Karaganda, Kazakhstan on 21 April 200712,30 UTC. Tyurin was commander of flight Soyuz TMA-11M, which docked with the ISS on November 7,2013, the Soyuz TMA-11M crew carried a torch for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Once at the ISS, Tyurin, Mastracchio and Wakata met Fyodor Yurchikhin, Karen Nyberg, Luca Parmitano, Oleg Kotov, Sergey Ryazansky, Michael Hopkins
15.
Aleksandr Samokutyayev
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Aleksandr Mikhailovich Samokutyayev is a Russian cosmonaut. Samokutyayev served as a Flight Engineer for the International Space Station long duration Expedition 27/28 missions and he also served as the Soyuz TMA-21 commander. He most recently served on the Soyuz TMA-14M Expedition 41/42 crew aboard the ISS and he was hired as a cosmonaut in the summer of 2003. In 1987—1988 Aleksandr studied at Penza politechnical institute, then he went to Chernigov and graduated from Chernigov Higher Military Pilot School after Lenins Komsomol in 1992. Samokutyayev graduated from the Gagarin Air Force Academy as a pilot-engineer in 2000, Samokutyayev has flown as pilot, senior pilot and deputy commander of air squadron, logging 680 hours of flight time and performed 250 parachute jumps. Upon graduation from the Gagarin Air Force Academy since 2000 he served at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center as the division head. On 29 May 2003 he was enlisted in the detachment to pass a course of general space training. Prior to the enlistment, on 20 January 2003 he successfully received a positive medical confirmation by the Chief Medical Board, Samokutyayev qualified as a test-cosmonaut on 5 July 2005. In July 2008 Samokutyayev was assigned to the crew for Expedition 25 to the ISS. Since then he joined the ISS advanced training as a commander and, from 2009. During the launch of Soyuz TMA-18 on 2 April 2010 he served as a commander of the Soyuz spacecraft. In October 2008 Samokutyayev was assigned to the crew of the 27th long duration expedition to the space station. On 7 October 2009 his assignment was confirmed by NASA press release No, Samokutyayev flew into space for the first time as a Flight Engineer for the ISS long duration Expedition 27/28 missions. Samokutyayev served as Commander of Soyuz TMA-21, the launch of Soyuz TMA-21 was devoted to the 50th anniversary of the first space mission by Yuri Gagarin. Samokutyayev carried a small stuffed dog given to him by his daughter, hanging in front of the crew, live NASA TV launch footage showed that the dog begun to float as the spacecraft soared skywards, an indication of the weightlessness of space. After two days of flight, the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on 6 April at 23,09 UTC. Samokutyayev concluded his 164-day stay aboard the Space Station, when his spaceship, on the same day, the Soyuz TMA-21 capsule carrying Samokutyayev, Borisenko and Ron Garan touched down at 93 miles southeast of the city of Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan. Samokutyayev returned to space aboard Soyuz TMA-14M, as part of the Expedition 41/42 long-duration International Space Station crew, the mission launched on 25 September 2014 and docked with the ISS just under six hours after lift-off on 26 September
16.
Scott Kelly (astronaut)
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Scott Joseph Kelly is an engineer, retired American astronaut, and a retired U. S. Navy Captain. A veteran of four flights, Kelly commanded the International Space Station on Expeditions 26,45. Kellys first spaceflight was as pilot of Space Shuttle Discovery, during STS-103 in December 1999 and this was the third servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, and lasted for just under eight days. Kellys second spaceflight was as commander of STS-118, a 12-day Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station in August 2007. Kellys third spaceflight was as commander of Expedition 26 on the ISS and he arrived 9 October 2010, on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, during Expedition 25, and served as a flight engineer until it ended. Expedition 26 ended on 16 March 2011 with the departure of Soyuz TMA-01M and this was Kellys first long-duration spaceflight. In November 2012, Kelly was selected, along with Mikhail Korniyenko and their year in space commenced 27 March 2015 with the start of Expedition 43, continued through the entirety of Expeditions 44, and 45, both of which Kelly commanded. He passed command to Timothy Kopra on 29 February 2016, when the ISS year long mission ended and he returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-18M on 1 March 2016. In October 2015, he set the record for the accumulated number of days spent in space by an American astronaut,520. This record was broken in 2016 by astronaut Jeff Williams, for the ISS year long mission, Kelly spent 340 consecutive days in space. Kellys identical twin brother, Mark Kelly, is a former astronaut, the Kelly brothers are the only siblings to have traveled in space. On March 12,2016, Kelly announced his retirement for April 2016, Scott Kelly received his commission via the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps following graduation from the State University of New York Maritime College in May 1987. He was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1989 at Naval Air Station Chase Field in Beeville and he reported to Fighter Squadron 101 at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, for initial F-14 Tomcat training. Scott Kelly was selected to attend the U. S. Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland in January 1993 and completed training in June 1994. After graduation, he worked as a test pilot at the Strike Aircraft Test Squadron, Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, at Patuxent River, flying the F-14A/B/D, F/A-18A/B/C/D and KC-130F. Kelly was the first pilot to fly an F-14 with a digital flight control system installed and performed subsequent high angle of attack. He has logged more than 8,000 flight-hours in more than 40 different aircraft and spacecraft, Kelly has more than 250 carrier landings. Selected by NASA in April 1996, Kelly reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996, on completion of training, he was assigned to technical duties in the Astronaut Office Spacecraft Systems/Operations Branch
17.
Andrei Borisenko
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Andrei Ivanovich Borisenko is a Russian cosmonaut. He was selected to be a cosmonaut in May 2003, in particular, he was listed as a back-up Flight Engineer for Soyuz TMA-18, which launched the crew of Expedition 23/24 in April 2010. Borisenko served as an engineer with the Expedition 27, the 27th long-duration mission to the International Space Station. He also served as the commander of Expedition 28, Borisenko is married to Zoya Leonidovna Borisenko. They have a son, Ivan and a daughter and his parents, Ivan Andreevich and Natalia Mikhailovna Borisenko, reside in St Petersburg. His hobbies include fishing, badminton, and road trips, Borisenko graduated from the Leningrad Physics and Mathematics School #30 in 1981. He then entered the Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute and graduated in 1987 with the qualification Flight, following graduation from the institute Borisenko worked for a military unit from 1987–1989. In 1989, he started working at RSC Energia where he was responsible for the Mir motion control system, in 1999, Borisenko was a shift flight director at the MCC-M, first for the Mir space station and then for the International Space Station. Borisenko was selected as a candidate from RSC Energia on May 29,2003. He started basic training in June,2003 and completed it in June,2005 by passing the state exams with excellent grades. He received qualification of test-cosmonaut on July 5,2005 from the Interdepartmental Qualification Commission, from July 2005 to August 2008 he participated in advanced space flight training. From August 2008 to March 2009 he trained as an Expedition 24/25 backup crewmember, since March 2009 he trained with the Expedition 23/24 back up crew as a station commander and Soyuz TMA flight engineer. Borisenko flew into space for the first time as a Flight Engineer for the ISS long duration Expedition 27/28 missions, the launch of Soyuz TMA-21 was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the first manned space flight by Yuri Gagarin performed in 1961. After 2 days of flight, the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on April 6 at 23,09 UTC. At 11,41 a. m. EDT Sunday, May 22,2011, Dmitri Kondratyev who had been the commander of Expedition 27, conducted a change of command ceremony with Andrey Borisenko. Andrey then commanded Expedition 27 and continued in command of Expedition 28 until he handed over the duties to Flight Engineer Mike Fossum on September 15,2011. Borisenko concluded his stay aboard the ISS, when his spaceship, on the same day, the Soyuz TMA-21 capsule carrying Borisenko and his two crew mates, Alexander Samokutyaev and Ron Garan touched down at 93 miles southeast of the city of Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan. During the Soyuz re-entry, repeated calls to the spacecraft from the Russian Mission Control in Korolyov, near Moscow, communication was eventually established between the crew and a plane circling the landing site
18.
Paolo Nespoli
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Paolo Angelo Nespoli is an Italian astronaut and engineer. In 2007, he first traveled into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a mission specialist of STS-120, in December 2010 he again traveled into space aboard the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft as an Expedition 26/27 flight engineer. Nespolis hometown is Verano Brianza, in northern Italy and he is married to Alexandra Ryabova and they have one daughter and a son. Nespoli enjoys Scuba diving, piloting aircraft, photography, building electronic equipment and he received his bachelors degree in Aerospace engineering in 1988 and his masters degree in 1989 in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Polytechnic University in New York. He is an engineer, a private pilot, an advanced scuba diver. Due to his background, he is also a master parachutist, parachute instructor, jump master, high altitude low opening. He joined the Italian Army in 1977, in July 1998, he was selected as an astronaut for Italian Space Agency and in August 1998, Nespoli was assigned by the European Space Agency to train at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. On 23 October 2007 Paolo launched on board STS-120 to the International Space Station, Harmony was built by Thales Alenia Space at its facility in Turin, Italy. He participated as a mission specialist and remained in space for 15 days,2 hours and 23 minutes, during STS-120, he participated in the Esperia mission for the European Space Agency. Paolo Nespoli served as first flight engineer for Expedition 26/27, Europe’s third six-month mission to the International Space Station, the three members of the crew returned to Earth in May 2011. This mission, dubbed ‘MagISStra’, is Paolo Nespoli’s second flight in space, in early January, Nespoli filmed the majority of the footage for the documentary film First Orbit, and as a result is credited as its director of photography. Nespoli took part in the arrival of the second Japanese HII Transfer Vehicle and he was the prime operator for berthing the HTV-2 to the ISS after the free-flying vehicle was captured by NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman. In May 2011, Space Shuttle Endeavour has delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the ISS, during Nespolis stint with Expedition 27, his mother, Maria, died on 4 May 2011. The crew observed 1 minute of silence the following day around the time of her funeral, Paolo Nespoli carried out an intensive programme of experiments in the Station, ranging from radiation monitoring to measurements that could improve oil recovery in petroleum reservoirs. The mission scientific programme covered different fields on human research, fluid physics, radiation, Nespoli contributed to the scientific exploitation of Europe’s Columbus laboratory. As an astronaut, he carried out experiments for ESA, NASA and also the Japanese. He also participated in an activity in space. Nespoli used ESA’s novel 3D camera to show images of the ISS, as Paolo left the ISS on 23 May 2011 in the Soyuz TMA-20 he was able to take the first pictures of a space shuttle docked with the ISS from the perspective of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft
19.
Catherine Coleman
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Catherine Grace Cady Coleman is an American chemist, a former United States Air Force officer, and a former NASA astronaut. She is a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions, and departed the International Space Station on May 23,2011 and she was advised by Professor Thomas J. McCarthy on her doctorate. She was a member of the crew and was a resident of Baker House. After completing her education, Coleman joined the U. S. Air Force as a Second Lieutenant while continuing her graduate work for a PhD at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 1988 she entered active duty at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a research chemist, during her work she participated as a surface analysis consultant on the NASA Long Duration Exposure Facility experiment. In 1991, she received her doctorate in science and engineering. She retired from the Air Force in November 2009, Coleman was selected by NASA in 1992 to join the NASA Astronaut Corps. In 1995, she was a member of the STS-73 crew on the scientific mission USML-2 with experiments including biotechnology, combustion science, during the flight, she reported to Houston Mission Control that she had spotted an unidentified flying object. She also trained for the mission STS-83 to be the backup for Donald A. Thomas, however, as he recovered on time, sTS-93 was Colemans second space flight in 1999. She was mission specialist in charge of deploying the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Coleman served as Chief of Robotics for the Astronaut Office, to include robotic arm operations and training for all Space Shuttle and International Space Station missions. In October 2004, Coleman served as an aquanaut during the NEEMO7 mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory, living and working underwater for eleven days. Coleman was assigned as a backup U. S. crew member for Expeditions 19,20 and 21, Coleman launched on December 15,2010, aboard Soyuz TMA-20 to join the Expedition 26 mission aboard the International Space Station. She retired from NASA on December 1,2016, STS-73 on Space Shuttle Columbia was the second United States Microgravity Laboratory mission. The mission focused on science, biotechnology, combustion science, the physics of fluids. In completing her first space flight, Coleman orbited the Earth 256 times, traveled over 6 million miles, sTS-93 on Columbia was a five-day mission during which Coleman was the lead mission specialist for the deployment of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Designed to conduct studies of the universe, the telescope will enable scientists to study exotic phenomena such as exploding stars, quasars. Mission duration was 118 hours and 50 minutes, Soyuz TMA-20 / Expedition 26/27 was an extended duration mission to the International Space Station. Coleman is married to glass artist Josh Simpson who lives in Massachusetts and she is part of the band Bandella, which also includes fellow NASA astronaut Steven Robinson, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, and Micki Pettit
20.
Control moment gyroscope
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A control moment gyroscope is an attitude control device generally used in spacecraft attitude control systems. A CMG consists of a rotor and one or more motorized gimbals that tilt the rotor’s angular momentum. As the rotor tilts, the angular momentum causes a gyroscopic torque that rotates the spacecraft. The latter apply torque simply by changing rotor spin speed, CMGs are also far more power efficient. For a few hundred watts and about 100 kg of mass, a reaction wheel of similar capability would require megawatts of power. The most effective CMGs include only a single gimbal, when the gimbal of such a CMG rotates, the change in direction of the rotors angular momentum represents a torque that reacts onto the body to which the CMG is mounted, e. g. a spacecraft. Except for effects due to the motion of the spacecraft, this torque is due to a constraint, single-gimbal CMGs exchange angular momentum in a way that requires very little power, with the result that they can apply very large torques for minimal electrical input. Such a CMG includes two gimbals per rotor, as an actuator, it is more versatile than a single-gimbal CMG because it is capable of pointing the rotors momentum vector in any direction. However, the torque generated by one gimbals motion must often be reacted by the other gimbal on its way to the spacecraft, requiring more power for a given torque than a single-gimbal CMG. If the goal is simply to store momentum in a mass-efficient way, as in the case of the International Space Station, however, if a spacecraft instead requires large output torque while consuming minimal power, single-gimbal CMGs are a better choice. Most CMGs hold rotor speed constant using relatively small motors to offset changes due to dynamic coupling, some academic research has focused on the possibility of increasing and decreasing rotor speed while the CMG gimbals. Variable-speed CMGs offer few practical advantages when considering actuation capability because the torque from the rotor is typically much smaller than that caused by the gimbal motion. Research has shown that the rotor torques required for two purposes are very small and within the capability of conventional CMG rotor motors. Thus, the benefits of VSCMGs are readily available using conventional CMGs with alterations to CMG cluster steering. The VSCMG also can be used as a battery to store electric energy as kinetic energy of the flywheels. At least three single-axis CMGs are necessary for control of spacecraft attitude, however, no matter how many CMGs a spacecraft uses, gimbal motion can lead to relative orientations that produce no usable output torque along certain directions. These orientations are known as singularities and are related to the kinematics of robotic systems that encounter limits on the end-effector velocities due to certain joint alignments, avoiding these singularities is naturally of great interest, and several techniques have been proposed. David Bailey and others have argued that merely avoiding the divide by zero error that is associated with these singularities is sufficient, two more recent patents summarize competing approaches
21.
James M. Kelly (astronaut)
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James McNeal Vegas Kelly is a NASA Astronaut and a retired Colonel of the United States Air Force. He twice served as pilot on Space Shuttle missions, born in Burlington, Iowa, James Kelly graduated from Burlington Community High School in 1982. He received a B. S. degree in engineering from the United States Air Force Academy in 1986. Kelly received his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in May 1986 and was designated an Air Force Pilot in October 1987 and he then reported to the 426th F-15 Replacement Training Unit at Luke Air Force Base, Phoenix, Arizona for initial F-15A Eagle training. After completion, he was assigned to the 67th Fighter Squadron, during his tour in Japan, he was designated as an instructor pilot, evaluator pilot, and mission commander. He was reassigned in April 1992 to Otis Air National Guard Base in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, as part of Project TOTAL FORCE and he was selected for Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Edwards, California, where he graduated in June 1994. After graduation, he was assigned to the Air Force Flight Test Center detachment at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada and he was at Nellis when selected for the astronaut program. He has logged over 2,500 flight hours in more than 35 different aircraft, meritorious Service Medal Air Force Commendation Medals Outstanding Unit Awards Combat Readiness Medals Distinguished Graduate in the class of 1986 at the U. S. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he is qualified for selection as a pilot on a Space Shuttle flight crew and he served as pilot on two shuttle missions. Initially, Kelly was assigned to the Astronaut Office Flight Support Branch where he served as a member of the Astronaut Support Personnel team responsible for launch preparation. STS-102 Discovery was the eighth Space Shuttle mission to visit the International Space Station, mission duration was 307 hours and 49 minutes. Kelly was the pilot on this mission, STS-114 Discovery was NASAs Return to Flight mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. The mission saw Kelly return to the International Space Station, during the time docked there were three spacewalks made which aimed to test procedures for thermal protection system repair. The mission was extended by a day due to bad weather at the Kennedy Space Center, when this continued for a second day the shuttle was diverted and Kelly landed with Discovery at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Mission duration was 333 hours,33 minutes, Kelly was the pilot on this mission. He was married to Dawn Renee Kelly, they have four children, official NASA Bio STS-114 James Kelly Crew Profile Spacefacts biography of James M. Kelly
22.
Poisk (ISS module)
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Poisk, also known as the Mini-Research Module 2, Малый исследовательский модуль2, or МИМ2, is a docking module of the International Space Station. Its original name was Docking Module 2, as it is almost identical to the Pirs Docking Compartment, added in 2009, Poisk was the first major Russian addition to the International Space Station since 2001. Poisk is overall the same design as a docking module Pirs. Whereas Pirs has been attached to the port of Zvezda module, Poisk is attached to the zenith, Pirs is closer to the Earth with the ISS in its usual orientation. Poisk is Russian for explore or search, Poisk combines various docking, EVA, and science capabilities. It has two egress hatches for EVAs in addition to the two spacecraft docking ports, Poisk docked to the zenith port of the Zvezda module on November 12,2009, and will serve as a docking port for Soyuz and Progress spacecraft and as an airlock for spacewalks. Two spacewalks conducted from the ISS in June 2009, successfully completed activities anticipating Poisk modules future berthing, on January 14,2010, cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Maksim Suraev conducted a spacewalk to outfit the Poisk module to prepare for receiving Soyuz and Progress ships in the future. They deployed antennas and a target, installed two handrails and plugged the new modules Kurs antennas into the Kurs docking system circuitry. The spacewalk lasted five hours and 44 minutes, the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft undocked from the aft end of the Zvezda service module at 10,03 UTC and backed away to a distance of about 30m from the space station. Undocking occurred as the station flew about 343 km high off the southwest coast of Africa, re-docking occurred at 10,24 UTC after Suraev fired the Soyuz maneuvering thrusters to fly halfway around the orbiting space station and line up with the Poisk module. The module was designed and built by S. P. Korolev RSC Energia, the occasion also marked the 1750th launch of a Soyuz rocket in its various configurations. About eight minutes after launch, the three-stage Soyuz rocket delivered Poisk, according to NASA Poisk carried about 816kg of cargo to the ISS including new Russian Orlan spacesuits, life support equipment, medical supplies and crew hygiene items. The Progress space tug provided electrical power and propulsion for the Poisk module during its journey to the space station. On 12 November, Progress began its final approach to the station on a Kurs rendezvous radar system. The docking happened as the space station sailed more than 354km over northern Kazakhstan, cosmonauts Maksim Suraev and Roman Romanenko entered the module for the first time by opening the hatch leading into Poisk at 12,17 UTC on 13 November 2009. The jettisoning of the Progress ship from the Poisk module happened around 8 December 2009, the Progress was destroyed during re-entry into the atmosphere. False alarms woke the crews aboard space shuttle Atlantis and the Space Station at 01,36 UTC on 20 November 2009, mission control Capcom Frank Lien in Houston told Expedition 21 Commander Frank De Winne it might have originated with the Poisk module. The other side of Poisk has been attached to the port of Zvezda module Scientific research on the ISS Rassvet Russian Orbital Segment Progress-M
23.
Mobile Servicing System
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The Mobile Servicing System, is a robotic system on board the International Space Station. Astronauts receive specialized training to them to perform these functions with the various systems of the MSS. The MSS is composed of three components - the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, known as Canadarm2, the Mobile Remote Servicer Base System and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator. The system can move along rails on the Integrated Truss Structure on top of the US provided Mobile Transporter cart which hosts the MRS Base System, the systems control software was written in the Ada 95 programming language. The MSS was designed and manufactured by MDA Space Missions for the Canadian Space Agencys contribution to the International Space Station, launched on STS-100 in April 2001, this second generation arm is a larger, more advanced version of the Space Shuttles original Canadarm. Canadarm2 is 17.6 m when fully extended and has seven motorized joints and it has a mass of 1,800 kg and a diameter of 35 cm. The arm is capable of handling large payloads of up to 116,000 kg and was able to assist with docking the space shuttle. Officially known as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, it is self-relocatable, in this movement, it is limited only by the number of Power Data Grapple Fixtures on the station. PDGFs located around the station power, data and video to the arm through its Latching End Effectors. The arm can also travel the length of the space station truss using the Mobile Base System. In addition to moving itself around the station, the arm can move any object with a grapple fixture, in construction of the station the arm was used to move large segments into place. The arm is used to undock and release the spacecraft after use. On-board operators see what they are doing by looking at the three Robotic Work Station LCD screens, the MSS has two RWS units, one located in the Destiny module and the other in the Cupola. Only one RWS controls the MSS at a time, the RWS has two sets of control joysticks, one Rotational Hand Controller and one Translational Hand Controller. In addition to this is the Display and Control Panel and the Portable Computer System laptop, in recent years, the majority of robotic operations are commanded remotely by flight controllers on the ground at Mission Control Center, or from the Canadian Space Agency. Operators can work in shifts to accomplish objectives with more flexibility than when done by on-board crew operators, astronaut operators are used for time-critical operations such as visiting vehicle captures and robotics supported Extra-Vehicular Activity. The Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or Dextre, is a smaller two-armed robot that can attach to Canadarm2, the arms and its power tools are capable of handling the delicate assembly tasks and changing Orbital Replacement Units currently handled by astronauts during space walks. Although Canadarm2 can move around the station in an inchworm motion, testing was done in the space simulation chambers of the Canadian Space Agencys David Florida Laboratory in Ottawa
24.
Destiny (ISS module)
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The Destiny module is the primary operating facility for U. S. research payloads aboard the International Space Station. It was berthed to the Unity module and activated over a period of five days in February,2001, Destiny is NASAs first permanent operating orbital research station since Skylab was vacated in February 1974. The Boeing Company began construction of the 16 ton, state-of-the art research laboratory in 1995 at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Destiny was shipped to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 1998, and was turned over to NASA for pre-launch preparations in August 2000. It launched on February 7,2001 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-98, astronauts work inside the pressurized facility to conduct research in numerous scientific fields. Scientists throughout the world use the results to enhance their studies in medicine, engineering, biotechnology, physics, materials science. Destiny was launched to ISS aboard the Space Shuttle mission STS-98 and it launched into Earth orbit on February 7,2001 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. On February 10,2001 Destiny was attached to ISS with the Shuttle SRMSS, pressurized Mating Adapter 2 was attached where Destiny would be, and PMA-2 was moved from Unity node to a temporary position on the truss. Destiny was berthed to that hatch on Unity, while PMA-2 was moved to the hatch of the Z1 truss. Several years later, on November 14,2007, Harmony module was attached to the end of the Destiny laboratory. The addition of Destiny increased the volume by 3,800 cubic feet. The aluminium U. S. laboratory module is 28 feet long and 14 feet wide and it comprises three cylindrical sections and two endcones that contain the hatch openings through which astronauts enter and exit the module. The aft port of Destiny is connected to the port of the Unity node. A 20-inch -diameter window is located on one side of the center module segment, each of the two berthing ports on Destiny contains a hatch. Both hatches are open, and remain open unless a situation arises requiring a module to be isolated. The hatches can be opened or closed from either side, the hatches have a pressure interlock feature, which prevents the hatch from being opened if there is a negative pressure across the hatch. Destiny has a 20-inch optically pure, telescope-quality glass window located in an open rack bay used primarily for Earth science observations, Station crewmembers use very high quality video and still cameras at the window to record Earths changing landscapes. A window shutter protects the window from potential micrometeoroid and orbital debris strikes during the life of the ISS, the crew manually opens the shutter to use the window. Seven additional racks were flown to Destiny in the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module by STS-102, Destiny can hold up to 13 payload racks with experiments in human life science, materials research, Earth observations and commercial applications
25.
Orlan space suit
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The Orlan space suit is a series of semi-rigid one-piece space suit models designed and built by NPP Zvezda. They have been used for spacewalks in the Russian space program, the successor to the Soviet space program, the first spacewalk using an Orlan suit took place on December 20,1977, on the Soviet space station Salyut 6, during the Soyuz 26 mission. Yuri Romanenko and Georgi Grechko tested the Orlan-D space suit, the Orlan-DM was used for the first time on August 2,1985, by the cosmonauts Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh of Salyut 7. The Orlan-M continued in use on Mir from 1997 until the end of the operational life. Orlan space suits have been used by Russian, American, European, china calls their Orlan-M suits Hǎi yīng. On February 3,2006, a retired Orlan fitted with a radio transmitter, in June 2009, the latest computerized Orlan-MK version was tested during a five-hour spacewalk to install new equipment on the International Space Station. The new suits main improvement is the replacement of the equipment in the Portable Life Support System backpack which contains a mini-computer. This computer processes data from the various systems and provides a malfunction warning. It then outlines a plan which is displayed on an LCD screen on the right chest part of the spacesuit. The Orlan space suit has gone through several models, space-rated designations include the Orlan-D, Orlan-DM, Orlan-DMA, and Orlan-M models, the Orlan-GN, Orlan-T, and Orlan-V are used in training and are used underwater. The latest model, called Orlan-MK, was tested during a spacewalk in June,2009, the Orlan-D expanded the operation time to three hours, the Orlan-M to nine hours. The Orlan space suit is semi-rigid, with a solid torso and it includes a rear hatch entry through the backpack that allows it to be donned relatively quickly. The first Orlan suits were attached to the spacecraft by a tether that supplied power. The Orlan-DM and later models are self-sustaining, Name, Orlan Lunar orbital spacesuit Manufacturer, NPP Zvezda Missions, Development occurred from 1967-1971, no flight models were produced. Function, Extra-vehicular activity Operating pressure,400 hPa Suit weight,59 kg Primary life support,5 hours Name, Orlan-D Manufacturer, NPP Zvezda Missions, Developed from 1969-1977. Function, Extra-vehicular activity Operating Pressure,400 hPa Suit Weight,73.5 kg Primary Life Support,5 hours Name, Orlan-DM Manufacturer, NPP Zvezda Company Missions, Used on Salyut-7 and Mir. Function, Extra-vehicular activity Operating pressure,400 hPa Suit weight,88 kg Primary life support,6 hours Name, Orlan-DMA Manufacturer, NPP Zvezda Missions, Used on Mir. Function, Extra-vehicular activity Operating Pressure,400 hPa Suit Weight,105 kg Primary Life Support,7 hours Name, Orlan-M Manufacturer, NPP Zvezda Missions, Used on Mir and ISS
26.
Extravehicular Mobility Unit
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It was used by NASAs Space Shuttle astronauts prior to the end of the Shuttle program in 2011. The EMU, like the Apollo/Skylab A7L spacesuit, was the result of years of research, prior to donning the pressure garment, the crew member puts on a Maximum Absorbency Garment, and possibly a Thermal Control Undergarment. After donning the LCVG, the astronaut then puts on the LTA, the astronaut then dons the HUT, connects the LCVG umbilical to the umbilical in the HUT, and then locks the two parts of the suit together using the Body Seal Closure. After donning the Snoopy cap, the gloves and helmet are then locked on, the suits regulator and fans activate when the servicing umbilicals are removed and the suit reaches an internal pressure of 4.3 psi. A typical EMU can support an astronaut for 8.5 hours, to perform an EVA from the shuttle, the cabin pressure was reduced from 14.7 psi to 10.2 psi for 24 hours, after which an astronaut had to pre-breathe for 45 minutes. For EVAs on board the ISS, the astronaut must pre-breathe for about four hours, manufacturer, ILC Dover and Hamilton Standard Missions, STS-6 to STS-110 Function, orbital extra-vehicular activity Operating pressure,4. Upon receiving the contract to build the EMU in 1974, Hamilton United, during the research and development phase, a suit being tested caught fire, injuring a technician and forcing a redesign on the regulator and circulation fan. On STS-4 in July 1982, the astronauts practiced donning and doffing the suit in the Shuttles airlock, the first Shuttle EVA was to occur on STS-5, but an electrical failure on the circulation fan forced the EVA to be cancelled. Other EVAs followed on the Shuttle, notably those on STS-41-B, STS-41-C, and STS-51-A, for those flights, two sets of EVA astronauts would venture out of the orbiter, thus requiring NASA to fly four sets of suits. 41 EVAs using EMUs had been conducted out of the Space Shuttle airlock prior to the start of ISS assembly in November 1998, with the building of the ISS, Hamilton Sundstrand and ILC Dover refined the existing Shuttle EMU by making the suit modular. This allowed the EMU to be left on the ISS for up to two years and resized on-orbit to fit various crew members. They also made provisions for increased capacity, the Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue, improved cameras and radios. Currently, the ISS EMU and the Russian ORLAN are used by crews of all nationalities on the International Space Station, the two EMUs are stored within the Quest Joint Airlock. NASA continues to use the EMU on the ISS but a Z series suit may take its place. Kenneth S. Thomas & Harold J. McMann
27.
Coordinated Universal Time
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Coordinated Universal Time, abbreviated to UTC, is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean time at 0° longitude. It is one of closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, the first Coordinated Universal Time was informally adopted on 1 January 1960. This change also adopted leap seconds to simplify future adjustments, a number of proposals have been made to replace UTC with a new system that would eliminate leap seconds, but no consensus has yet been reached. Leap seconds are inserted as necessary to keep UTC within 0.9 seconds of universal time, see the Current number of leap seconds section for the number of leap seconds inserted to date. The official abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time is UTC and this abbreviation arose from a desire by the International Telecommunication Union and the International Astronomical Union to use the same abbreviation in all languages. English speakers originally proposed CUT, while French speakers proposed TUC, the compromise that emerged was UTC, which conforms to the pattern for the abbreviations of the variants of Universal Time. Time zones around the world are expressed using positive or negative offsets from UTC, the westernmost time zone uses UTC−12, being twelve hours behind UTC, the easternmost time zone, theoretically, uses UTC+12, being twelve hours ahead of UTC. In 1995, the nation of Kiribati moved those of its atolls in the Line Islands from UTC-10 to UTC+14 so that the country would all be on the same day. UTC is used in internet and World Wide Web standards. The Network Time Protocol, designed to synchronise the clocks of computers over the internet, computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC as it is more specific than GMT. If only limited precision is needed, clients can obtain the current UTC from a number of official internet UTC servers, for sub-microsecond precision, clients can obtain the time from satellite signals. UTC is also the standard used in aviation, e. g. for flight plans. Weather forecasts and maps all use UTC to avoid confusion about time zones, the International Space Station also uses UTC as a time standard. Amateur radio operators often schedule their radio contacts in UTC, because transmissions on some frequencies can be picked up by many time zones, UTC is also used in digital tachographs used on large goods vehicles under EU and AETR rules. UTC divides time into days, hours, minutes and seconds, days are conventionally identified using the Gregorian calendar, but Julian day numbers can also be used. Each day contains 24 hours and each hour contains 60 minutes, the number of seconds in a minute is usually 60, but with an occasional leap second, it may be 61 or 59 instead
28.
Rassvet (ISS module)
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Rassvet, also known as the Mini-Research Module 1 and formerly known as the Docking Cargo Module, is a component of the International Space Station. The modules design is similar to the Mir Docking Module launched on STS-74 in 1995, Rassvet is primarily used for cargo storage and as a docking port for visiting spacecraft. It was flown to the ISS aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-132 mission on May 14,2010, the hatch connecting Rassvet with the ISS was first opened on May 20. On 28 June 2010, the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft performed the first docking with the module, Rassvet was docked to the nadir port of Zarya with help from the SSRMS. Rassvet carried externally attached outfitting equipment from NASA for the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module, an elbow joint for the European Robotic Arm. Delivering Rassvet thus enabled NASA to fulfill its promise to ship 1.4 metric tons to equip the MLM. Rassvet has two docking units, one to attach to the port of the Zarya module. It implements the role of the Docking and Stowage Module from the original ISS design, russia announced the cancellation of the last of the two planned Russian Research Modules when it announced the plans for Rassvet. The initial ISS plan included a Docking and Storage Module and this planned Russian element was intended to provide facilities for stowage and an additional docking port, and would have been launched to the station on a Proton launch vehicle. The DSM would have been mounted to Zaryas nadir docking port and it would have been similar in size and shape to the Zarya module. Rassvet was designed as a solution to two problems facing the ISS partners, NASA was under contract to carry the MLM outfitting equipment into space. The overlapping missions of the Progress, Soyuz, and ATV spacecraft highlighted the need to have four Russian docking ports available on the ISS, Rassvet solved both of these issues. NASA did not need to add another payload flight to accommodate the MLM outfitting equipment, as it could attach the hardware to the exterior of MRM-1. The ISS now had 4 docking ports available on the Russian segment, the aft port of Zvezda, the port of Pirs, later MLM, the port of MRM-2, and the port on MRM-1. Russias cancellation of the Research Module thus came to be of consequence for the ISS program as a whole. The module was designed and built by S. P. Korolev RSC Energia, on December 17,2009, an Antonov An-124 carrying the Rassvet Module and ground process equipment arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Upon unloading, the equipment was delivered to a processing facility run by the Astrotech. Energia specialists and technicians continued their work on the processing of the Rassvet module at the facility, completing stand-alone electrical tests and leak tests of the module and they also prepared the airlock and the radiative heat exchanger for installation onto Rassvet
29.
Zvezda (ISS module)
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Zvezda, DOS-8, also known as the Zvezda Service Module, is a component of the International Space Station. It was the module launched to the station, and provides all of the stations life support systems, some of which are supplemented in the USOS. It is the structural and functional center of the Russian portion of the station - the Russian Orbital Segment, the module was manufactured by RKK Energia, with major sub-contracting work by GKNPTs Khrunichev. Zvezda was launched on a Proton rocket on July 12,2000, the basic structural frame of Zvezda, known as DOS-8, was initially built in the mid-1980s to be the core of the Mir-2 space station. This means that Zvezda is similar in layout to the module of the Mir space station. It was in fact labeled as Mir-2 for quite some time in the factory and its design lineage thus extends back to the original Salyut stations. The space frame was completed in February 1985 and major equipment was installed by October 1986. The MIR-2 space station was redesigned after the failure of the Polyus orbital weapons platform core module to reach orbit, Zvezda is around 1/4 the size of Polyus, and has no armaments. The component weighs about 18,051 kg and had a length of 13.1 metres, the solar panels extend 29.7 metres. The Transfer Compartment attaches to the Zarya module, and has docking ports intended for the Science Power Platform and it was used only during Expedition 2, where two men put a docking cone on the nadir port. The lower port connects to Pirs and the top port connects to Poisk, eventually, the plan for Pirs is for it to be deorbited and replaced by the Multipurpose Laboratory Module. The Assembly Compartment holds external equipment such as thrusters, thermometers, antennas, the Transfer Chamber is equipped with automatic docking equipment and is used to service Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. Zvezda can support up to six crew including separate sleeping quarters for two cosmonauts at a time and it also has a NASA-provided Treadmill with Vibration Isolation System and a bicycle for exercise, a toilet and other hygiene facilities and a galley with a refrigerator and freezer. The module contains the primary Russian computers for guidance and navigation, Zvezda has 14 windows— There are two 9-inch-diameter windows, one in each of the two crew sleep compartments. Six 9-inch-diameter windows on the forward Transfer Compartment earth facing floor, as well a 16-inch-diameter window in the main Working Compartment and one 3-inch-diameter window in the aft transfer compartment. There are a further three 9-inch-diameter windows in the end of the forward transfer compartment, for observing approaching craft. Note, Window No.11 is unaccounted for in all available sources, Zvezda also contains the Elektron system that electrolyzes condensed humidity and waste water to provide hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is expelled into space and the oxygen is used for breathing air, the condensed water and the waste water can be used for drinking in an emergency, but ordinarily fresh water from Earth is used
30.
Douglas Wheelock
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Douglas Harry Wheels Wheelock is an American engineer and astronaut. He has flown in space twice, logging 178 days on the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, on July 12,2011, Wheelock announced that he would be returning to active duty with the United States Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Douglas Wheelock was born in Binghamton, New York to Olin, in a pre-flight interview, Wheelock stated that he was inspired to become an astronaut at an early age. He also stated that a turning point in his life was the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969. In 1978 Wheelock graduated from Windsor Central High School in Windsor and he earned a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology in 1992. Wheelock spent four years as a cadet at West Point, graduating in the class of 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Science, after graduation he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U. S. Armys Infantry Branch and entered flight school the next year. In September 1984, then Lieutenant Wheelock graduated at the top of his class and was designated an Army Aviator. He was later assigned to the Aviation Directorate of Combat Developments as an Advanced Weapons Research and Development Engineer. Wheelock was selected as a member of Class 104 at the U. S. Naval Test Pilot School and his flight testing was focused in the areas of tactical reconnaissance and surveillance systems in the OH-58D, UH-60, RU-21 and C-23 aircraft. He served as Division Chief for fixed-wing testing of airborne signal and imagery intelligence systems in support of the National Program Office for Intelligence, while on active duty, Wheelock received a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1992. In August 1996 Wheelock was assigned to the Johnson Space Center as a Space Shuttle integration test engineer and his technical duties involved engineering liaison for launch and landing operations of the Space Shuttle. S. Army Command and General Staff College, in July 2011, Wheelock left for a tour of duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He is scheduled to return in fall 2011, a dual-rated Master Army Aviator Astronaut, he has logged over 2,500 flight hours in 43 different rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. In August 1998 Wheelock reported for NASA Astronaut Candidate Training and he worked extensively with the Energia Aerospace Company in Moscow, Russia, developing and verifying dual-language procedures for ISS crews. Wheelock led joint U. S. /Russian teams to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to oversee bench reviews, inventory, loading and launch of the first four unmanned ISS resupply capsules. He was the contact for all crew needs, coordination, planning and interactions. In August 2002, Wheelock was assigned as a Spacecraft Communicator in the Mission Control Center in Houston, in this role, he was the primary communication link between crews on orbit and the ground support team in the Control Center. His work as a CAPCOM culminated in his assignment as the lead CAPCOM for the ISS Expedition 8 mission, in July 2004, Wheelock served as an aquanaut during the NEEMO6 mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory, living and working underwater for ten days
31.
Pirs (ISS module)
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Pirs -- also called Stykovochny Otsek 1 or SO-1 (Russian, Стыковочный отсек, docking module, or DC-1 -- is one of the two Russian docking compartments originally planned for the ISS. Pirs was launched in August 2001 and it provides the ISS with one docking port for Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, and allows egress and ingress for spacewalks by cosmonauts using Russian Orlan space suits. A second docking compartment, Stykovochniy Otsek 2 or SO-2, was planned with the same design. However, when the Russian segment of the ISS was redesigned in 2001, the new design no longer included the SO-2, after another change of plans the SO-2 module finally evolved into the Poisk module, which was added to the ISS in 2009. Pirs is scheduled to be detached from the ISS in 2017 and to be deorbited, the Docking Compartment has two primary functions, Provide a docking port and serve as an airlock. The docking port can accommodate one Soyuz-TMA or one Progress-M spacecraft, visiting spacecraft can deliver people and cargo to and from to the space station. It can also transfer propellant from Zvezda and Zarya to the system of docked vehicles—Soyuz. The two airlocks are used for spacewalks by cosmonauts wearing Russian Orlan-M spacesuits, the Pirs docking compartment was manufactured by RKK Energia. The Docking Compartment is similar to the Mir Docking Module used on the Mir space station, the docking compartments planned lifetime as part of the station was five years. Pirs was launched on September 14,2001, as ISS Assembly Mission 4R, on a Russian Soyuz-U rocket, using a modified Progress spacecraft, Progress M-SO1, the 3, 580-kilogram Pirs Docking Compartment is attached to the nadir port of the Zvezda service module. It docked to the International Space Station on September 16,2001, two Strela cargo cranes were later added by the STS-96 and STS-101 missions, carried up on Integrated Cargo Carriers and installed during EVAs. Pirs was originally scheduled to be detached from the port of the Zvezda module in 2014 to make room for the Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module Nauka. This has been delayed to 2017 due to a series of failures with the Proton rocket leading to delays in the launch of Nauka. When that happens, Pirs could become the first permanent ISS module to be decommissioned, length,4.91 metres Diameter,2.55 metres Weight,3,580 kilograms Volume,13 cubic metres Hover over each photo to view label detail Poisk Pirs Docking Compartment
32.
YouTube
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YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. The service was created by three former PayPal employees—Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim—in February 2005, Google bought the site in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion, YouTube now operates as one of Googles subsidiaries. Unregistered users can watch videos on the site, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos. Videos deemed potentially offensive are available only to registered users affirming themselves to be at least 18 years old, YouTube earns advertising revenue from Google AdSense, a program which targets ads according to site content and audience. YouTube was founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, Hurley had studied design at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Chen and Karim studied computer science together at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, Hurley and Chen said that the original idea for YouTube was a video version of an online dating service, and had been influenced by the website Hot or Not. YouTube began as a venture capital-funded technology startup, primarily from an $11.5 million investment by Sequoia Capital between November 2005 and April 2006, YouTubes early headquarters were situated above a pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, California. The domain name www. youtube. com was activated on February 14,2005, the first YouTube video, titled Me at the zoo, shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. The video was uploaded on April 23,2005, and can still be viewed on the site, YouTube offered the public a beta test of the site in May 2005. The first video to reach one million views was a Nike advertisement featuring Ronaldinho in November 2005. Following a $3.5 million investment from Sequoia Capital in November, the site grew rapidly, and in July 2006 the company announced that more than 65,000 new videos were being uploaded every day, and that the site was receiving 100 million video views per day. The site has 800 million unique users a month and it is estimated that in 2007 YouTube consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet in 2000. The choice of the name www. youtube. com led to problems for a similarly named website, the sites owner, Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment, filed a lawsuit against YouTube in November 2006 after being regularly overloaded by people looking for YouTube. Universal Tube has since changed the name of its website to www. utubeonline. com, in October 2006, Google Inc. announced that it had acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in Google stock, and the deal was finalized on November 13,2006. In March 2010, YouTube began free streaming of certain content, according to YouTube, this was the first worldwide free online broadcast of a major sporting event. On March 31,2010, the YouTube website launched a new design, with the aim of simplifying the interface, Google product manager Shiva Rajaraman commented, We really felt like we needed to step back and remove the clutter. In May 2010, YouTube videos were watched more than two times per day. This increased to three billion in May 2011, and four billion in January 2012, in February 2017, one billion hours of YouTube was watched every day
33.
Expedition 1
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Expedition 1 was the first long-duration stay on the International Space Station. The three-person crew stayed aboard the station for 136 days, from November 2000 to March 2001 and it was the beginning of an uninterrupted human presence on the station which continues as of April 2017. Expedition 2, which also had three members, immediately followed Expedition 1. The official start of the expedition occurred when the crew docked to the station on 2 November 2000, aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-31, the crew was very busy throughout the mission, which was declared a success. The three visiting Space Shuttles brought equipment, supplies, and key components of the space station. The first of these, STS-97, docked in early December 2000, and brought the first pair of large U. S. photovoltaic arrays, which increased the stations power capabilities fivefold. Mid-March 2001 saw the final visit of the expedition, STS-102, whose main purpose was to exchange the Expedition 1 crew with the next three-person long-duration crew. The expedition ended when Discovery undocked from the station on 18 March 2001, the Expedition 1 crew consisted of an American commander and two Russians. The commander, Bill Shepherd, had been in three times before, all on shuttle missions which lasted at most a week. The Russians, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei K. Krikalev, both had previous long-duration spaceflights on Mir, with Krikalev having spent over a year in space. The commander, Bill Shepherd, was a former Navy SEAL, whose only spaceflights were on shuttle missions, questions had been raised by the Russian space agency about the choice of Shepherd as mission commander due to his lack of experience. Flight engineer Sergei Krikalev had spent over a year in orbit, mostly on Mir and he had felt excitement to have been one of the first people to enter the Zarya module in 1998, during STS-88, and was looking forward to returning. Yuri Gidzenko was designated commander and pilot of the two-day Soyuz mission to the station, had one previous spaceflight, which was a 180-day stay aboard Mir. Shepherd was only the second U. S. astronaut to be launched in a Russian spacecraft, the first being Norman Thagard, who launched on Soyuz TM-21 to visit Mir in 1995. Shepherd expected one of the biggest challenges for the ISS would be the compatibility of technologies, the first component of the space station was the Zarya module, which was launched unmanned in November 1998. Following this launch, and prior to Expedition 1, there were five manned Space Shuttle flights, some of these flights delivered large modules, such as the pressurized Unity and Zvezda modules, and the first piece of the Integrated Truss Structure. The manned flights were used for assembly of the ISS, as well as to start unpacking the supplies. Prior to Expedition 1, Krikalev expected the ISS to be similar to his experience on Mir ten years previous
34.
Expedition 2
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Expedition 2 was the second long-duration spaceflight aboard the International Space Station, immediately following Expedition 1. Its three-person crew stayed aboard the station from March to August 2001, in addition to station maintenance, the crew assisted in several station assembly missions, welcomed the first space tourist Dennis Tito, and conducted some scientific experiments. The crew consisted of one Russian, Commander Yury Usachev, the three had been to the station briefly in the previous year, during the 10-day mission STS-101 in May 2000. The Expedition 2 crew was brought to the station aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during mission STS-102, the Expeditions increment began when Discovery docked on 10 March 2001, bringing Expedition 1 to an end. In August Discovery returned to rotate the long-duration crews again, bringing the crew of the next expedition, the Expedition 2 increment ended when Discovery undocked from the station on 20 August 2001. All three crew members had visited the International Space Station together in May 2000 aboard STS-101, in addition to this spaceflight, the Expedition 2 Commander Yuri Usachev also had two other spaceflights, both of which were long-duration missions aboard Mir. In addition to STS-101, flight engineer Susan Helms had three spaceflights, all of which were Space Shuttle missions. James Voss also had three spaceflights, all of which were Space Shuttle missions. Expedition 2, the second crew for the International Space Station arrived in March 2001. They returned to Earth on mission STS-105,22 August 2001 after having spent 163 days aboard the station and 167 days in space, only Voss performed a spacewalk on STS-101, along with Jeffrey Williams. They also prepared the Destiny laboratory to enable upcoming experiments to be conducted, a major focus was on gaining a better understanding of how to protect crew members from radiation while working and living in space. Radiation exposure in high doses over long periods of time can damage human cells, the three-member Expedition 2 crew successfully launched on 8 March 2001 on Space Shuttle Discovery during mission STS-102. They docked with the International Space Station on 10 March, the first visitors to the station during Expedition 2 was the crew of STS-100, when they docked Space Shuttle Endeavour with the ISS on 21 April 2001. They spent eight days docked to the station, the primary objective of this mission was to deliver and install the Canadarm2 on the ISS, which is a robotic arm similar to the Canadarm which is used on some Space Shuttle flights. A later mission in 2002, STS-111, would deliver a movable base platform which would allow the Canadarm2 to have a larger range. This 8 day mission is referred to as ISS EP-1, ISS-2S, Soyuz 2 Taxi Flight. The Commander of this mission was Kazakh cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev. The other crew member of ISS EP-1 was Yuri Baturin, who had one other spaceflight, Mir EP-4, in July, Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the station for an eight-day visit as a part of STS-104
35.
Expedition 3
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Expedition 3 was the third expedition to the International Space Station. Commander Frank Culbertson was the only American crew member, and as such the only American not on Earth during the 9/11 attacks, research in space begun by two previous crews aboard the International Space Station expanded during the Expedition Three mission. The third resident crew launched on 10 August 2001 on Space Shuttle Discovery during mission STS-105, the crew conducted a science-intensive increment and completed four spacewalks. The Expedition Three crew of the International Space Station enjoyed a view of the 2001 Leonid meteor storm. It looked like we were seeing UFOs approaching the earth flying in formation, there were hundreds per minute going beneath us, really spectacular. News reports had warned sky watchers in advance, On 18 November 2001, innumerable bits of comet dust would become meteors when they hit Earths atmosphere at 144,000 miles per hour. Millions of people saw the show, but only three of them—the ones on board the space station—saw it from above and we had to look down to see the meteors, says Culbertson. Thats because the atmosphere is below the station, an international crew of three were the third crew to live aboard the International Space Station. The team was led by American Commander Frank Culbertson, and joined by Russian crewmates Vladimir Dezhurov, mission pilot, as a part of the STS-105 mission, Discovery delivered the Expedition 3 crew to the station. During their four-month stay, the saw the orbital complex expand. The Expedition 3 crew returned home on mission STS-108, all four of the spacewalks during Expedition 3 were completed using the Russian Orlan spacesuit and from the Pirs air lock on the Russian segment of the International Space Station. Above the book is a layout of what the station will look like when completed, docked with the space shuttle. On September 11,2001, the International Space Station passed over New York City and this article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
36.
Expedition 4
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Expedition 4 was the fourth expedition to the International Space Station. The fourth resident crew launched on 5 December 2001 on board Space Shuttle Endeavour during mission STS-108 and they became official station residents at 20,03 UTC on 7 December 2001, and remained on board until June 2002, when they landed on STS-111. An international crew of three were the crew to live aboard the International Space Station. The team was led by Russian Yuri I, onufrienko and joined by American crewmates Daniel W. Bursch and Carl E. Walz, both flight engineers. As a part of the STS-108 mission, Endeavour delivered the Expedition 4 crew to the station and they returned to Earth 19 June 2002, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour following the STS-111 mission. The Expedition Four crew conducted three spacewalks during its stay on board the International Space Station, the crew spent a total of 17 hours and 51 minutes outside the station. These spacewalks brought the total up to 34—nine station-based and 25 shuttle-based—that have been conducted at the station for total of 208 hours and 5 minutes and this article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
37.
Expedition 5
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Expedition 5 was the fifth long-duration stay on the International Space Station. The crew, consisting of three people, remained in space for 184 days,178 of which were spent aboard the ISS, Expedition 5 was a continuation of an uninterrupted human presence in space, as of July 2015, which was begun by Expedition 1 in 2000-2001. The crew of Expedition 5 launched to space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour aboard the STS-111 mission on 5 June 2002 and their tenure aboard the station, however, did not occur until they docked with the ISS two days later on 7 June. Perigee,384 km Apogee,396 km Inclination,51. 6° Period,92 min The Expedition Five crew took charge of ISS operations on 7 June 2002. An official ceremony between Expedition crews took place 10 June, with the ringing of the stations brass bell. The Expedition Five crew carried out approximately 25 new investigations on board the ISS, the crew wrapped up a 184-day stay in space when they returned home on STS-1137 December 2002. Space Shuttle Endeavour delivered the Expedition 5 crew during mission STS-111 which launched 5 June 2002, the fifth crew to live aboard the International Space Station was led by Russian Valery Korzun and joined by fellow Cosmonaut Sergei Treshchev and U. S. Astronaut Peggy A. Whitson, both flight engineers, while on board, Dr. Whitson was named NASAs first ISS Science Officer by NASA Administrator OKeefe. The Expedition Five crewmembers conducted two spacewalks during their stay at the International Space Station, both were based out of the Pirs Docking Compartment and used Russian Orlan space suits. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics, Expedition 5 Photography ISS Expedition Five Crew
38.
Expedition 6
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Expedition 6 was the sixth expedition to the International Space Station. It was the last three-man crew to reside on the station until the arrival of STS-121, the crew performed two spacewalks in support of maintenance and assembly of the International Space Station. Perigee,384 km Apogee,396 km Inclination,51. 6° Period,92 min The Stations sixth crew was launched to the Station aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-113 in November 2002. The mission was expected to be a mission that was to end in March 2003 when Atlantis STS-114 was to fly to the Station with the Expedition 7 crew. The Columbia disaster, which occurred during the mission on 1 Feb.2003, and resulted in the suspension of shuttle flights, changed plans. They returned to earth on Soyuz TMA-1 and a reduced Expedition 7 crew with just two members was delivered to the ISS on Soyuz TMA-2, the Space Shuttle was expected to be grounded for up to two years. Ongoing logistical support for the ISS would have to be carried out by Soyuz, russian Mission Control reported at approximately 2,45 a. m.4 May that the support helicopters reached the crew and all three astronauts were in good health. The capsule appeared to touch down about 276 miles from its landing zone. Originally scheduled to fly on the Expedition 6 Crew in place of Don Pettit was Donald A. Thomas, the Expedition Six crew conducted two spacewalks during its stay at the International Space Station. Both were based out of the Quest Airlock, and the spacewalkers used U. S. spacesuits, the crew was originally scheduled to conduct only one spacewalk, but a second was added to the manifest for 8 April in order to prepare for future assembly missions. The two Expedition Six extravehicular activities bring the number of spacewalks conducted in support of ISS assembly. Of those 51 EVAs, Twenty-six have been based out of the station, bowersox and Pettit accumulated 13 hours and 17 minutes of spacewalking time at the station. Expedition 6 is the subject of the book Too Far From Home, A Story of Life and Death in Space, a dramatised account of Expedition 6 is told in Expedition 6, a play by actor/playwright Bill Pullman. The play was scheduled to run at San Franciscos Magic Theater through 7 October 2007 and this article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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Expedition 7
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Expedition 7 was the seventh expedition to the International Space Station. The Soyuz docked on 28 April 2003 and took command of the ISS. The Space Shuttle fleet had been grounded due to the Columbia disaster, due to the reduced crew size, the scientific work had to be scaled down as well. Only 15 different experiments were conducted during the mission, Malenchenko and Lu were also tasked with periodic maintenance work on the station, as well as spacewalk training. Supplies were delivered by Progress M1-10 in June and Progress M-48 in August and its really some exciting news to share. The worlds spacefaring nations have been joined by a new member tonight, first off, we want to congratulate them, Lu replied. The more people go into space, the better off we all are. This is an achievement and good for everyone in the long run. In Chinese, he added, Welcome to space. I would also like to say I love to have somebody else in space instead of me and Ed, I also know this is great for thousands and thousands of people from China. Malenchenko and Lu were previously crewmates on the STS-106 shuttle mission and this article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ISS Expedition 7 Crew site from Nasa
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Expedition 8
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Expedition 8 was the eighth expedition to the International Space Station. Perigee,384 km Apogee,396 km Inclination,51, at the time of docking, both spacecraft orbited the Earth above Russia. Once the Expedition 7 crew undocked, Foale and Kaleri settled down to work, beginning a more than six-month stint focused on Station operations and maintenance. The new station crew, along with Duque, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 05,38,03 UTC, the Expedition 8 crew conducted the first two-person spacewalk at the International Space Station. Unlike previous spacewalks conducted by ISS crews, there was not a crewmember inside the Station as the spacewalkers worked outside, the spacewalk was based out of the Pirs docking compartment, the spacewalkers wore Russian Orlan space suits. This was the 52nd spacewalk devoted to Space Station assembly, operations and maintenance and it was the 27th based out of the Station, bringing the total to 155 hours and 17 minutes. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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Expedition 9
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Expedition 9 was the ninth expedition to the International Space Station. This mission was the site for the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Project, Expedition 8 and Kuipers returned to Earth that same day aboard the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft. Kuipers 11-day mission to the ISS was part of an agreement between ESA and the Federal Space Agency of Russia. The Expedition 9 crew conducted four spacewalks during its stay at the International Space Station, the four spacewalks were devoted to ISS maintenance and assembly. All four were based out of the Pirs Docking Compartment and used Russian Orlan spacesuits, before these four extravehicular activities,52 spacewalks had been performed at the ISS, with 27 based out of the Station. Mission managers decided to reschedule the spacewalk for 30 June, a failed Remote Power Controller Module was responsible for the temporary loss of CMG2 in April. The gyroscope is one of four that control the ISS orientation, spacewalk 3 Gennady Padalka, Mike Fincke Time,4 hours,30 minutes Start time,1,58 a. m. CDT3 August 2004 End time,6,28 a. m. The spacewalkers removed Kromka Panel No.2 and installed Kromka Panel No.3, the Kromka experiment exposes various materials to the space environment. They also replaced another materials science experiment, the spacewalkers replaced the Zarya Control Module flow control panel and installed four safety tether fairleads on Zaryas handrails. ATV support operations included installing equipment for the radio link antennas. Other tasks included installing a Pressure Control and Exposure Monitor Sensor on Pirs, the design of the Expedition 9 mission patch includes a tribute to astronauts and cosmonauts who gave their lives in space exploration. The outspread wings of the eagle have 16 stars and 1 star of David and they represent the Apollo 1 crew Virgil Ivan Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51L crew Francis Dick Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 crew Rick Husband, William C. McCool, David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael P. Anderson, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon, around the eagles neck are 4 small red stars and one larger red star. The large star is for Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space during Vostok 1, the other 4 are for Soyuz 1 cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 11 crew Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev and Vladislav Volkov. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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Expedition 10
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Expedition 10 was the tenth expedition to the International Space Station, using the Soyuz TMA-5, which stayed during the expedition for emergency evacuation. Chiao was the commander and NASA science officer, and Sharipov was the Soyuz commander. Both Astronauts were researchers in the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Project, notable accomplishments included replacing critical hardware in the Quest Joint Airlock, repairing U. S. spacesuits, and submitting a scientific research paper on ultrasound use in space. Chiao was also the first astronaut to vote in a U. S, the launch of Expedition 10 was rescheduled. During preflight testing, a bolt was accidentally activated on the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft. The resulting damage caused was repaired and the mission launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 14 October 2004, during the Expedition 10 mission, two Progress supply spacecraft docked with the International Space Station. The first docked on 25 December 2004 followed by the second on 28 February 2005, European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy launched to the Station with the Expedition 11 crew and spent eight days onboard performing scientific experiments. Vittori returned to Earth with the Expedition 10 crew and he was aboard under a contract between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency. The re-entry of the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft was perfect, returning the astronauts to Earth 53 miles northeast of the town of Arkalyk after 192 days,19 hours and 2 minutes in space, the recovery team reached the capsule in minutes. Chiao is a veteran of three Space Shuttle flights, and spent 13 hours on two spacewalks in 2000 as part of a mission at the Station. Sharipov has logged over 211 hours in space and he served as a mission specialist on the Shuttle during the eighth Shuttle-Mir docking mission in 1998. The Expedition 10 crew completed two spacewalks, including experiment installation and tasks to prepare the Station for the arrival of the new European Automated Transfer Vehicle in 2006, instead, the Automated Transfer Vehicle came in 2008. The first spacewalk took place on 26 January 2005 and the second on 28 March 2005 and this article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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Expedition 11
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Expedition 11 was the 11th expedition to the International Space Station, using the Soyuz TMA-6, which stayed during the expedition for emergency evacuation. European Space Agency Italian Astronaut Roberto Vittori launched with Expedition 11 on the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft, on 6 August 2005 the Orbiter undocked from the ISS taking the MPLM back. During the Expedition 11 mission, Russian Commander Sergei Krikalev exceeded the record for time in space. Krikalev at launch had spent 624.387 days in space and he passed the record on the 123rd day of the mission, on 16 August 2005. His cumulative time in space was 803 days and 9 hours and 39 minutes upon landing, on 3 October 2005 Soyuz TMA-7 docked bringing the Expedition 12 crew. Thomas Reiter was scheduled to join the mission in October 2005 on the supply mission STS-121 to the ISS, on 18 August 200519,02 UTC the crew started a 4-hour, 58-minute spacewalk. They installed a camera on Zvezda, and checked a Korma contamination-exposure experiment tablet. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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Expedition 12
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Expedition 12 was the 12th expedition to the International Space Station, launched from Kazakhstan using the Russian Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft. The crew landed back in Kazakhstan on 8 April 2006 with the addition of the first Brazilian astronaut, american entrepreneur Gregory Olsen was launched in the Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft and returned with Expedition 11 on Soyuz TMA-6 on 11 October 2005 thereby becoming the third space tourist. Perigee, Apogee, Inclination,51.6 degrees Orbital period, Station assembly preparations, there were two spacewalks outside the ISS during Expedition 12. MacArthur and Tokarev participated in both of them, the first EVA was on 7 November 2005 for 5 hours and 22 minutes. There were two main objectives, both of which were completed, the first was to install and set up a new camera on the P1 Truss which was later used in the installation of more truss segments. The second was to jettison the Floating Potential Probe which was an instrument, designed to measure the stations electrical potential. The second spacewalk took place on 3 February 2006 and lasted 5 hours and 43 minutes, the astronauts jettisoned an old Russian Orlan spacesuit, named SuitSat-1, that was equipped with a radio for broadcasts to students around the world. The suit reached the end of its life in 2004. They also retrieved the Biorisk experiment, photographed a sensor for a micrometeoroid experiment, on 29 March 2006 a total solar eclipse took place, and the adjacent picture was taken by the Expedition 12 crew. It clearly shows the shadow of the Moon being cast on the Earth, while wake-up music is a tradition aboard space shuttle missions, the ISS crew generally use an alarm clock to wake up. The event was broadcast live on NASA TV and this article incorporates public domain material from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration document Expedition 12
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Expedition 13
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Expedition 13 was the 13th expedition to the International Space Station, and launched at 02,30 UTC on 30 March 2006. The expedition used the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft, which stayed at the station for the duration of the expedition for emergency evacuation, astronaut Marcos Pontes launched with Expedition 13 on the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft and became the first Brazilian in space. He returned with Expedition 12 on Soyuz TMA-7 after a nine-day mission, Thomas Reiter, from the European Space Agency, became part of the Expedition 13 crew in July 2006. Reiter was launched with the second Return to Flight mission on Discovery on 4 July 2006, reiters arrival restored the station crew to three members for the first time since May 2003. The stations crew size had reduced to two when shuttle flights were put on hold after the Space Shuttle Columbia accident on 1 February 2003. It was originally scheduled to include a shot off the space station but the event was postponed to Expedition 14. The spacewalk ran behind schedule, requiring an extra 50 minutes to be added to the length in order to complete the camera replacement. The EVA began 1 June, at 23,48 UTC and ended 2 June at 06,19 UTC, other tasks during the walk included repair of a vent for the stations oxygen-producing Elektron unit, and retrieval of experiment packages. The second spacewalk for Expedition 13 occurred on 3 August 2006, the spacewalk was performed by Jeffrey Williams and Thomas Reiter, it began at 14,04 UTC and ended at 19,58 UTC, for a duration of 5 hours and 54 minutes. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics, ESA. int, Video from the ISS Expedition 13, taken by Thomas Reiter SpaceFacts. de, Expedition 13 NASA. gov, Expedition 13 Photography
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Expedition 14
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Expedition 14 was the 14th expedition to the International Space Station. Commander Michael López-Alegría, and flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 18 September 2006,04,09 UTC and they joined Thomas Reiter, who had arrived at the ISS on 6 July 2006 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during mission STS-121. In December 2006, Discovery mission STS-116 brought Sunita Williams to replace Reiter as the member of Expedition 14. On 21 April 2007, López-Alegría and Tyurin returned to Earth aboard TMA-9, to relocate Soyuz TMA-9 from the aft port of the Zvezda module to nadir port of the Zarya module. To service three Progress visits to the ISS, filled with food, fuel, water and supplies to augment supplies delivered by the visiting Space Shuttles, reconfigure power from solar arrays and cooling system. Remove and jettison shrouds covering the truss system, cosmonaut Tyurin piloted the capsule in for a perfect docking two days later at 05,21 UTC on 20 September, with the hatch to the ISS opening at 08,30 UTC. As they watched Atlantis create a glowing contrail during its plunge into the atmosphere, López-Alegría, the station was a few hundred miles ahead of the shuttle at the time. The expeditions first spacewalk took place on 22 November 2006, starting at 19,17 EST, Tyurin got out of the suit and straightened a suspect hose which apparently had become kinked. During the spacewalk, Tyurin hit a ball from the exterior of the Pirs airlock. This experiment was sponsored by a Toronto-based commercial company, Element 21, the ball weighs just 3 grams, compared with 48 grams for a standard golf ball. At that weight, it was unlikely to damage any station components which might accidentally have been hit, there were three balls allowing two options for repeating the shot if required, but only one shot was actually taken. Taken with a grip by Tyurin, the shot was a substantial slice. In 2006, there were plans for the video from the shot to be used in a TV commercial, the progress of the ball, which contains tracking equipment, could be followed on E21s Track the Ball in Space web site which was set up in 2006. Although, the site simply calculates a distance of the ball based on a constant speed. The stunt was carried out around 35 years after Alan Shepard hit two balls on the moon during Apollo 14. Inspection of a Kurs antenna on the Progress 23 unpiloted cargo carrier that docked at the aft end of the stations Zvezda Service Module on 26 October 2006 was the next task. Final latching of the spacecraft to the station during the procedure was delayed by more than three hours because Mission Control Moscow was not sure the antenna was completely retracted. Tyurin and López-Alegría moved to the rear of Zvezda and photographed the antenna and it was still fully extended, so Tyurin used a screwdriver to release a latch and tried to retract the antenna
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Expedition 15
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Expedition 15 was the 15th expedition to the International Space Station. Four crew members participated in the expedition, although for most of the expeditions duration only three were on the station at any one time, during Expedition 15, the ISS Integrated Truss Structure was expanded twice, STS-117 brought the S3/S4 truss, and STS-118 brought the S5 truss. Flight Engineer Sunita Williams was the first Expedition 15 crew member to arrive and she participated in Expedition 14, until Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin assumed command of the station. Williams arrived at the station on 11 December 2006, aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery flight STS-116, Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov arrived the station on 9 April 2007 aboard Soyuz TMA-10. On 26 April 2007, NASA announced that Williams would return to Earth on STS-117, flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis, Williams was replaced by Clayton Anderson, who arrived at the station aboard Atlantis, which docked on 10 June 2007. Expedition 15 ended officially after Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson arrived at the station aboard Soyuz TMA-11, landing occurred without incident, and by 10,55 UTC, all crew members were out of the capsule, and the vehicle was secured. Until then, the other time a Soyuz landing had resulted in a ballistic trajectory was the landing of Soyuz TMA-1. Another ballistic trajectory occurred with the landing of Soyuz TMA-11 on 19 April 2008 for Expedition 16, EVA1,30 May 2007 – Yurchikhin/Kotov,5 hours,25 minutes. EVA2,6 June 2007 – Yurchikhin/Kotov,5 hours,37 minutes, EVA3,23 July 2007 – Yurchikhin/Anderson 7 hours,41 minutes. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics, NASA – International Space Station Expedition 15. 04/04/07, Soyuz Assembly Complete, Expedition 15 to Launch on April 7, site includes all ISS Status Reports since 2003
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Expedition 16
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Expedition 16 was the 16th expedition to the International Space Station. Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson did not land with the Soyuz TMA-10, STS-120 launched on 23 October, docked on 25 October, and replaced Anderson with new Flight Engineer Daniel Tani. Following docking, the Soyuz seat liners for Anderson and Tani were swapped, Léopold Eyharts, who came aboard during STS-122, joined the mission on 9 February 2008, replacing Tani. The crew was joined by Garrett Reisman, who was launched aboard Endeavour with STS-123, on 11 March 2008. Reisman joined Expedition 16 in progress, and was a part of Expedition 17 as well, upon reentry, the astronauts Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft suffered a minor malfunction, causing the craft to follow a very steep ballistic descent. As a result, the crew experienced forces up to 10 G, Roscosmos reported all three crew members were doing just fine and in good health. The new addition added over 2,500 cubic feet to the living volume. The joint crews also moved the P6 truss, and relocated it from its position on top of the station, to its final port-side position, Whitson and Malenchenko carried out the increments first EVA on 9 November, that prepared the docking port for relocation. On 12 November, Whitson and Tani used the stations Mobile Servicing System to detach the docking port, on 14 November, the Tani and Whitson again used the robotic arm and moved Harmony from its temporary location, to its permanent location on the forward port of Destiny. On 20 November, Whitson and Tani completed the second EVA for the increment, all tasks were accomplished, and three get-ahead tasks were performed. On 24 November, Whitson and Tani completed the third EVA for the increment, all task were accomplished, and photographic inspection of the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint was performed, as well as some ISS maintenance get-ahead tasks. Three hours and 37 minutes into the spacewalk, Whitson surpassed NASA astronaut Sunita Williams with a time at that point of 29 hours and 18 minutes. STS-122 delivered Columbus and replaced Dan Tani with Léopold Eyharts, STS-123 delivered the first element of Kibō and replaced Léopold Eyharts with Garrett Reisman. Expedition 16 also saw the arrival of the first Automated Transfer Vehicle to the station, Expedition 16 also saw the arrival of the first Korean astronaut, Yi So-yeon. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics, NASA, Expedition 16 Roscosmos, Soyuz TMA-11 launch page in English, NASA, STS-120 NASA, STS-122 NASA, STS-123 Expedition 16 Photography
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Expedition 17
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Expedition 17 was the 17th expedition to the International Space Station. The first two members, Sergey Volkov, and Oleg Kononenko were launched on 8 April 2008. Once aboard the station, they joined Garrett Reisman, who transferred from Expedition 16 to join the Expedition 17 crew, Reisman was replaced by Gregory Chamitoff, who launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-124 on 31 May 2008. Volkov and Kononenko landed safely on 24 October 2008, while Chamitoff remained aboard the station as an Expedition 18 crewmember, sergei Volkov,35, was the youngest person to command the ISS. Garrett Reisman was the first Jewish resident of the ISS, Gregory Chamitoff was the first crewmember to take bagels with him to the station, three bags of 18 sesame seed bagels. Reisman launched to the station on STS-123 in March, which was during the Expedition 16 spaceflight, Chamitoff launched to the station on STS-124 in June, and stayed through Expedition 18, leaving the station on STS-126 in November
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
