Expedition 27
Encyclopedia
Expedition 27 was the 27th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station
(ISS), starting on 16 March 2011. Expedition 27 saw numerous notable events, including the undocking of the Progress M-09M
and Kounotori 2 spacecraft, the arrival of the Soyuz TMA-21 and Progress M-10M
spacecraft, and the final rendezvous with the ISS of NASA
's Space Shuttle Endeavour
, on its last mission, STS-134
. The expedition ended on 23 May 2011 with the departure of the Soyuz TMA-20
spacecraft, although command of the station was ceremonially handed over to the crew of Expedition 28
the day before, on 22 May.
Source: NASA
ese H-II Transfer Vehicle
. It reentered Earth's atmosphere at around 03:09 UTC on March 30.
on 4 April 2011, carrying Expedition 27 crew members Aleksandr Samokutyayev, Andrei Borisenko and Ronald Garan. It docked with the space station on April 6 at 23:09 UTC. The docking to the Poisk module occurred as the two spacecraft were orbiting over the Andes Mountains in Chile
. The hatches between Soyuz TMA-21 and the ISS were opened at 2:13 UTC on 7 April. The three Soyuz crew members were welcomed aboard for a crew greeting ceremony and a mandatory safety orientation by Expedition 27 Commander Dmitri Kondratyev and Flight Engineers Catherine Coleman and Paolo Nespoli.
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
in 1961. The crew recorded their greeting in Russian
, English
, and Italian
while wearing black Gagarin t-shirts.
cargo spacecraft was undocked from the station's Pirs module at 11:41 UTC on 22 April 2011. After departing the space station, the spacecraft was used for the Radar-Progress scientific experiment to investigate a reflection feature of the plasma
generated by operations of the Progress propulsion system. Upon the completion of this experiment, the spacecraft was deorbited, and reentered over the "spacecraft cemetery
" in the South Pacific Ocean
.
Progress M-09M had been launched on a resupply mission to the ISS on 28 January 2011. It carried 2,666 kilograms (5,880 lb) of cargo to the space station, consisting of 1,444 kilograms (3,180 lb) of dry cargo, 752 kilograms (1,660 lb) of propellant, 50 kilograms (110 lb) of oxygen
and 420 kilograms (930 lb) of water.
cargo spacecraft arrived at the ISS on 29 April 2011, successfully docking at 14:19 UTC to the nadir port of the Pirs module, which had been vacated by Progress M-09M. The docking occurred as the two spacecraft were traveling 220 miles (354 kilometers) over western Mongolia
. The linkup happened just over five hours before NASA's first launch attempt of the Space Shuttle Endeavour
on the STS-134
mission. The shuttle launch was scrubbed because of the failure of two heaters on one of Endeavours auxiliary power units. Endeavour finally launched successfully on 16 May 2011.
, the second-to-the-last mission of the Space Shuttle program
, was launched from Kennedy Space Center
on May 16, 2011 at 12:56 UTC. Space Shuttle Endeavour
docked to the ISS on 18 May at 10:14 UTC, and delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2
(AMS-2) and an Express Logistics Carrier
to the station, completing the assembly of the US Orbital Segment
of the ISS. On 22 May, while Endeavour was docked, the members of Expedition 27 formally handed over command of the station to the members of Expedition 28
. The following day, on 23 May, the Soyuz TMA-20
spacecraft departed from the ISS, returning Expedition 27 crew members Paolo Nespoli, Catherine Coleman and Dmitri Kondratyev to Earth. Soyuz TMA-20 landed safely in central Kazakhstan
at 02:27 UTC on 24 May 2011, having taken photographs of the shuttle docked at the ISS prior to re-entry.
More photos are available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:STS-134
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
(ISS), starting on 16 March 2011. Expedition 27 saw numerous notable events, including the undocking of the Progress M-09M
Progress M-09M
Progress M-09M , identified by NASA as Progress 41 or 41P, is a Progress spacecraft which was launched in 2011 to resupply the International Space Station. It was the ninth Progress-M 11F615A60 spacecraft to be launched, and has the serial number 409. The spacecraft was manufactured by RKK Energia,...
and Kounotori 2 spacecraft, the arrival of the Soyuz TMA-21 and Progress M-10M
Progress M-10M
Progress M-10M , identified by NASA as Progress 42 or 42P, is a Progress spacecraft which was launched on 27 April 2011 to resupply the International Space Station. It was the tenth Progress-M 11F615A60 spacecraft to be launched, and has the serial number 410. The spacecraft was manufactured by RKK...
spacecraft, and the final rendezvous with the ISS of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
, on its last mission, STS-134
STS-134
STS-134 was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The mission marked the 25th and final flight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Mark Kelly served as the mission commander...
. The expedition ended on 23 May 2011 with the departure of the Soyuz TMA-20
Soyuz TMA-20
Soyuz TMA-20 was a manned spaceflight to the International Space Station and was part of the Soyuz programme. It lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 15, 2010, and docked with the ISS two days later...
spacecraft, although command of the station was ceremonially handed over to the crew of Expedition 28
Expedition 28
Expedition 28 was the 28th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station, starting on 23 May 2011 with the departure of the members of Expedition 27. The first three members of the expedition arrived on the ISS aboard the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft on 4 April 2011, and were joined on 9...
the day before, on 22 May.
Crew
| Position | First Part (March 2011) |
Second Part (April 2011 to May 2011) |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Dmitri Kondratyev, RSA Russian Federal Space Agency The Russian Federal Space Agency , commonly called Roscosmos and abbreviated as FKA and RKA , is the government agency responsible for the Russian space science program and general aerospace research. It was previously the Russian Aviation and Space Agency .Headquarters of Roscosmos are located... First spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 1 | Catherine Coleman Catherine Coleman Catherine Grace "Cady" Coleman is an American chemist, a former United States Air Force officer, and a current NASA astronaut... , NASA NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research... Third spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 2 | Paolo Nespoli, ESA Second spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 3 | Andrei Borisenko Andrei Borisenko Andrei Ivanovich Borisenko is a Russian cosmonaut. He was selected to be a cosmonaut in May 2003, and since 2008 he has been training as a back-up crew member for a long-duration mission to the International Space Station... , RSA First spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 4 | Aleksandr Samokutyayev Aleksandr Samokutyayev Aleksandr Mikhailovich Samokutyayev is a Russian cosmonaut. Samokutyayev served as a Flight Engineer for the International Space Station long duration Expedition 27/28 missions. He also served as the Soyuz TMA-21 commander... ,RSA First spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 5 | Ron Garan, NASA Second spaceflight |
|
Source: NASA
Kounotori 2 undocking
After an extended two-month stay, Kounotori 2 was detached from the nadir docking port of the Harmony module by the Canadarm 2 robotic arm at 15:29 UTC on 28 March 2011, and released at 15:46 UTC. Launched in January 2011 to resupply the ISS, Kounotori 2 (also known as HTV-2) was the second JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese H-II Transfer Vehicle
H-II Transfer Vehicle
The H-II Transfer Vehicle , called , is an unmanned resupply spacecraft used to resupply the Kibō Japanese Experiment Module and the International Space Station . The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has been working on the design since the early 1990s. The first mission, HTV-1, was originally...
. It reentered Earth's atmosphere at around 03:09 UTC on March 30.
Soyuz TMA-21 docking
The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft launched from Baikonur CosmodromeBaikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
on 4 April 2011, carrying Expedition 27 crew members Aleksandr Samokutyayev, Andrei Borisenko and Ronald Garan. It docked with the space station on April 6 at 23:09 UTC. The docking to the Poisk module occurred as the two spacecraft were orbiting over the Andes Mountains in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. The hatches between Soyuz TMA-21 and the ISS were opened at 2:13 UTC on 7 April. The three Soyuz crew members were welcomed aboard for a crew greeting ceremony and a mandatory safety orientation by Expedition 27 Commander Dmitri Kondratyev and Flight Engineers Catherine Coleman and Paolo Nespoli.
50th anniversary of first spaceflight
On 12 April 2011, the Expedition 27 crew recorded a special video message aboard the ISS in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight, which was conducted by SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....
in 1961. The crew recorded their greeting in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
while wearing black Gagarin t-shirts.
Progress M-09M undocking
The Progress M-09MProgress M-09M
Progress M-09M , identified by NASA as Progress 41 or 41P, is a Progress spacecraft which was launched in 2011 to resupply the International Space Station. It was the ninth Progress-M 11F615A60 spacecraft to be launched, and has the serial number 409. The spacecraft was manufactured by RKK Energia,...
cargo spacecraft was undocked from the station's Pirs module at 11:41 UTC on 22 April 2011. After departing the space station, the spacecraft was used for the Radar-Progress scientific experiment to investigate a reflection feature of the plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
generated by operations of the Progress propulsion system. Upon the completion of this experiment, the spacecraft was deorbited, and reentered over the "spacecraft cemetery
Spacecraft cemetery
The so-called Spacecraft Cemetery is an area in the southern Pacific Ocean 3900 km southeast of Wellington, New Zealand,where spacecraft, notably the defunct Mir space station and waste-filled Progress cargo ships are and have been routinely deposited. It has been chosen for its remoteness, as...
" in the South Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Progress M-09M had been launched on a resupply mission to the ISS on 28 January 2011. It carried 2,666 kilograms (5,880 lb) of cargo to the space station, consisting of 1,444 kilograms (3,180 lb) of dry cargo, 752 kilograms (1,660 lb) of propellant, 50 kilograms (110 lb) of oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
and 420 kilograms (930 lb) of water.
Progress M-10M docking
Flying two days autonomously after liftoff from the Baikonour Cosmodrome, the Progress M-10MProgress M-10M
Progress M-10M , identified by NASA as Progress 42 or 42P, is a Progress spacecraft which was launched on 27 April 2011 to resupply the International Space Station. It was the tenth Progress-M 11F615A60 spacecraft to be launched, and has the serial number 410. The spacecraft was manufactured by RKK...
cargo spacecraft arrived at the ISS on 29 April 2011, successfully docking at 14:19 UTC to the nadir port of the Pirs module, which had been vacated by Progress M-09M. The docking occurred as the two spacecraft were traveling 220 miles (354 kilometers) over western Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. The linkup happened just over five hours before NASA's first launch attempt of the Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
on the STS-134
STS-134
STS-134 was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The mission marked the 25th and final flight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Mark Kelly served as the mission commander...
mission. The shuttle launch was scrubbed because of the failure of two heaters on one of Endeavours auxiliary power units. Endeavour finally launched successfully on 16 May 2011.
STS-134
STS-134STS-134
STS-134 was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The mission marked the 25th and final flight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Mark Kelly served as the mission commander...
, the second-to-the-last mission of the Space Shuttle program
Space Shuttle program
NASA's Space Shuttle program, officially called Space Transportation System , was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011...
, was launched from Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
on May 16, 2011 at 12:56 UTC. Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
docked to the ISS on 18 May at 10:14 UTC, and delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, also designated AMS-02, is a particle physics experiment module that is mounted on the International Space Station. It is designed to search for various types of unusual matter by measuring cosmic rays. Its experiments will help researchers study the formation of...
(AMS-2) and an Express Logistics Carrier
EXPRESS Logistics Carrier
An ExPRESS logistics carrier is an unpressurized attached payload platform for the International Space Station that provides mechanical mounting surfaces, electrical power, and command and data handling services for Orbital Replacement Units as well as science experiments on the ISS...
to the station, completing the assembly of the US Orbital Segment
US Orbital Segment
The US Orbital Segment is the name given to the components of the International Space Station constructed and operated by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration , European Space Agency , Canadian Space Agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency .The segment currently consists of...
of the ISS. On 22 May, while Endeavour was docked, the members of Expedition 27 formally handed over command of the station to the members of Expedition 28
Expedition 28
Expedition 28 was the 28th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station, starting on 23 May 2011 with the departure of the members of Expedition 27. The first three members of the expedition arrived on the ISS aboard the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft on 4 April 2011, and were joined on 9...
. The following day, on 23 May, the Soyuz TMA-20
Soyuz TMA-20
Soyuz TMA-20 was a manned spaceflight to the International Space Station and was part of the Soyuz programme. It lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 15, 2010, and docked with the ISS two days later...
spacecraft departed from the ISS, returning Expedition 27 crew members Paolo Nespoli, Catherine Coleman and Dmitri Kondratyev to Earth. Soyuz TMA-20 landed safely in central Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
at 02:27 UTC on 24 May 2011, having taken photographs of the shuttle docked at the ISS prior to re-entry.
Gallery
More photos are available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:STS-134