Expedition 13
Encyclopedia
Expedition 13 was the 13th expedition to the International Space Station
(ISS), 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
(STS-121
) on 4 July 2006. Reiter became the first European long-duration crew member on the International Space Station when he officially joined the crew of the ISS at 19:13 UTC on 6 July 2006 upon the complete installation of his Soyuz spacecraft
seat liner, allowing him to return to Earth aboard the docked Soyuz craft.
Reiter's arrival restored the station crew to three members for the first time since May 2003. The station's crew size was 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 golf shot off the space station but the event was postponed to Expedition 14
, as NASA was still evaluating the risks.
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, lasting 6 hours and 31 minutes. Other tasks during the walk included repair of a vent for the station's oxygen-producing Elektron unit, and retrieval of experiment packages.
During the spacewalk the astronauts installed the Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU), installed two Materials on Materials International Space Station Experiment
(MISSE) containers, installed a controller for a thermal radiator rotary joint, replaced a computer and installed a starboard jumper and spool positioning device (SPD), inspected a radiator beam valve module and installed another, installed a port jumper and SPD, tested an infrared camera, installed a light on the truss railway handcart, replaced a malfunctioning GPS antenna, installed a vacuum system valve, moved two articulated portable foot restraints, photographed a scratch on the airlock hatch, and retrieved a ball stack for inspection from PMA-1.
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), and launched at 02:30 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
on 30 March 2006. The expedition used the Soyuz TMA-8
Soyuz TMA-8
-Back-up crew:-Docking with ISS:*Docked to ISS: April 1, 2006, 04:19 UTC *Undocked from ISS: September 28, 2006, 21:53 UTC -Mission highlights:29th manned flight to ISS...
spacecraft, which stayed at the station for the duration of the expedition for emergency evacuation.
Astronaut Marcos Pontes
Marcos Pontes
Marco Pontes is a Brazilian Air Force pilot. He became the first Brazilian and the first Lusophone to go into space when he launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-8 on March 30, 2006...
launched with Expedition 13 on the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft and became the first Brazilian in space. He returned with Expedition 12
Expedition 12
Expedition 12 was the 12th expedition to the International Space Station, launched from Kazakhstan using the Russian Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft...
on Soyuz TMA-7
Soyuz TMA-7
Soyuz TMA-7 was a transport mission for portions of the International Space Station Expedition 12 crew launched October 1, 2005. The flight delivered ISS Commander William McArthur and ISS Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev to the station to replace Expedition 11 crew members...
after a nine-day mission.
Thomas Reiter
Thomas Reiter
Thomas Arthur Reiter is a retired European astronaut and is a Brigadier General in the Luftwaffe currently working as Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations at the European Space Agency . , he was one of the top 25 astronauts in terms of total time in space...
, from the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
, became part of the Expedition 13 crew in July 2006. Reiter was launched with the second "Return to Flight" mission on Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
(STS-121
STS-121
STS-121 was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Discovery. The main purposes of the mission were to test new safety and repair techniques introduced following the Columbia disaster of February 2003 as well as to deliver supplies, equipment and...
) on 4 July 2006. Reiter became the first European long-duration crew member on the International Space Station when he officially joined the crew of the ISS at 19:13 UTC on 6 July 2006 upon the complete installation of his Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz , Union) is a series of spacecraft initially designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau in the 1960s, and still in service today...
seat liner, allowing him to return to Earth aboard the docked Soyuz craft.
Reiter's arrival restored the station crew to three members for the first time since May 2003. The station's crew size was reduced to two when shuttle flights were put on hold after the Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members...
accident on 1 February 2003.
Crew
| Position | First Part (March to July 2006) |
Second Part (July to September 2006) |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Pavel Vinogradov, 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... Second spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 1 | Jeffrey Williams, 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... Second spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 2 | Thomas Reiter Thomas Reiter Thomas Arthur Reiter is a retired European astronaut and is a Brigadier General in the Luftwaffe currently working as Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations at the European Space Agency . , he was one of the top 25 astronauts in terms of total time in space... , ESA European Space Agency The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states... Second Spaceflight |
|
Back-up crew
- Michael Fincke Commander and NASA Science Officer - NASA
- Fyodor YurchikhinFyodor YurchikhinFyodor Nikolayevich Yurchikhin , is a Russian cosmonaut and RSC Energia test-pilot who has flown on three spaceflights. His first spaceflight was a 10-day Space Shuttle mission STS-112. His second was a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station as a Flight Engineer for Expedition...
Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander - RSA - Léopold EyhartsLéopold EyhartsLéopold Eyharts is a Brigadier General in the French Air Force and an ESA astronaut.-Background:Eyharts was born April 28, 1957, in Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France...
Flight Engineer - ESA (France)
EVA 1
The first spacewalk for Expedition 13, performed by Pavel Vinogradov and Jeffrey Williams, began on 1 June, and ended on 2 June 2006.It was originally scheduled to include a golf shot off the space station but the event was postponed to Expedition 14
Expedition 14
Expedition 14 was the 14th expedition to the International Space Station . Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, and flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 18 September 2006, 04:09 UTC, aboard Soyuz TMA-9. They joined Thomas Reiter, who had arrived at the ISS on 6 July 2006...
, as NASA was still evaluating the risks.
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, lasting 6 hours and 31 minutes. Other tasks during the walk included repair of a vent for the station's oxygen-producing Elektron unit, and retrieval of experiment packages.
EVA 2
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.During the spacewalk the astronauts installed the Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU), installed two Materials on Materials International Space Station Experiment
Materials International Space Station Experiment
The Materials International Space Station Experiment , is a series of experiments mounted externally on the International Space Station that investigates the effects of long-term exposure of materials to the harsh space environment....
(MISSE) containers, installed a controller for a thermal radiator rotary joint, replaced a computer and installed a starboard jumper and spool positioning device (SPD), inspected a radiator beam valve module and installed another, installed a port jumper and SPD, tested an infrared camera, installed a light on the truss railway handcart, replaced a malfunctioning GPS antenna, installed a vacuum system valve, moved two articulated portable foot restraints, photographed a scratch on the airlock hatch, and retrieved a ball stack for inspection from PMA-1.