Expedition 15
Encyclopedia
Expedition 15 was the 15th expedition to the International Space Station
(ISS). Four crew members participated in the expedition, although for most of the expedition's 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.
was the first Expedition 15 crew member to arrive. 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
, instead of STS-118
as originally planned. 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
, and the official change of command ceremony took place on 19 October 2007.
On 21 October 2007, after the separation of the Soyuz TMA-10 capsule, Moscow Mission Control reported that the Soyuz had entered into a ballistic trajectory
, which resulted in a landing that was 340 kilometres (211.3 mi) short of the intended Kazakhstan
landing site. 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 only other time a Soyuz landing had resulted in a ballistic trajectory was the landing of Soyuz TMA-1
, for Expedition 6
. Another ballistic trajectory occurred with the landing of Soyuz TMA-11
on 19 April 2008 for Expedition 16
.
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). Four crew members participated in the expedition, although for most of the expedition's duration only three were on the station at any one time. During Expedition 15, the ISS Integrated Truss Structure
Integrated Truss Structure
the Integrated Truss Structure forms the backbone of the International Space Station, with mountings for unpressurized logistics carriers, radiators, solar arrays, and other equipment.-History:...
was expanded twice: STS-117
STS-117
- Crew Notes :The initial crew manifest before the Columbia accident was:Astronaut Mark Polansky was originally slated to pilot this mission, but was moved to STS-116, which he commanded...
brought the S3/S4 truss, and STS-118
STS-118
- Crew notes :Astronaut Clayton Anderson originally was slated to be launched to the ISS on this mission, but was moved to STS-117. His replacement was Alvin Drew....
brought the S5 truss.
Crew
| Position | First Part (April to June 2007) |
Second Part (June to October 2007) |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Fyodor Yurchikhin Fyodor Yurchikhin Fyodor 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... , 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 | Oleg Kotov Oleg Kotov Oleg Valeriyevich Kotov was born October 27, 1965, in Simferopol, Crimean oblast in Ukrainian SSR. After a career as a military pilot, he joined the Russian cosmonaut corps. He has flown two long duration spaceflight on the International Space Station logging just short of a year in space... , RSA First spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 2 | Sunita Williams Sunita Williams Sunita Williams is a United States Naval officer and a NASA astronaut. She was assigned to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14 and then joined Expedition 15... , NASA First Spaceflight |
Clayton Anderson Clayton Anderson Clayton Conrad Anderson is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. Launched on STS-117, he replaced Sunita Williams on June 10, 2007 as a member of the ISS Expedition 15 crew.-Education:... , NASA First spaceflight |
Crew Notes
Flight Engineer Sunita WilliamsSunita Williams
Sunita Williams is a United States Naval officer and a NASA astronaut. She was assigned to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14 and then joined Expedition 15...
was the first Expedition 15 crew member to arrive. She participated in 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...
, until Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin
Fyodor Yurchikhin
Fyodor 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...
assumed command of the station. Williams arrived at the station on 11 December 2006, aboard the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
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...
flight STS-116
STS-116
-Crew notes:Originally this mission was to carry the Expedition 8 crew to the ISS. The original crew was to be:-Mission highlights:* The STS-116 mission delivered and attached the International Space Station's third port truss segment, the P5 truss....
. Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov
Oleg Kotov
Oleg Valeriyevich Kotov was born October 27, 1965, in Simferopol, Crimean oblast in Ukrainian SSR. After a career as a military pilot, he joined the Russian cosmonaut corps. He has flown two long duration spaceflight on the International Space Station logging just short of a year in space...
arrived the station on 9 April 2007 aboard Soyuz TMA-10
Soyuz TMA-10
Soyuz TMA-10 was a human spaceflight mission using a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft to transport personnel to and from the International Space Station . The mission began at 17:31:09 UTC on April 7, 2007 when the spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle...
.
On 26 April 2007, NASA announced that Williams would return to Earth on STS-117
STS-117
- Crew Notes :The initial crew manifest before the Columbia accident was:Astronaut Mark Polansky was originally slated to pilot this mission, but was moved to STS-116, which he commanded...
, flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter in the Space Shuttle fleet belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration , the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States...
, instead of STS-118
STS-118
- Crew notes :Astronaut Clayton Anderson originally was slated to be launched to the ISS on this mission, but was moved to STS-117. His replacement was Alvin Drew....
as originally planned. Williams was replaced by Clayton Anderson
Clayton Anderson
Clayton Conrad Anderson is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. Launched on STS-117, he replaced Sunita Williams on June 10, 2007 as a member of the ISS Expedition 15 crew.-Education:...
, who arrived at the station aboard Atlantis, which docked on 10 June 2007.
Expedition 15 ended officially after Expedition 16
Expedition 16
Expedition 16 was the 16th expedition to the International Space Station .The first two crew members, Yuri Malenchenko and Peggy Whitson, launched on 10 October 2007, aboard Soyuz TMA-11, and were joined by spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, the first Malaysian in space.Expedition 15...
Commander Peggy Whitson
Peggy Whitson
Peggy Annette Whitson is an American biochemistry researcher, NASA astronaut, and NASA's Chief Astronaut. Her first space mission was in 2002, with an extended stay aboard the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 5. Her second mission launched October 10, 2007, as the first female...
arrived at the station aboard Soyuz TMA-11
Soyuz TMA-11
Soyuz TMA-11 was a human spaceflight mission using a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft to transport personnel to and from the International Space Station . The mission began at 13:22 UTC on October 10, 2007 when the spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle...
, and the official change of command ceremony took place on 19 October 2007.
Backup crew
- Roman RomanenkoRoman RomanenkoRoman Yurievich Romanenko is a cosmonaut at the Yu.A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.-Personal life:His parents, Yuri Victorovich Romanenko and Aleftina Ivanovna Romanenko, live in Star City. He is married to Yulia Leonidovna Romanenko . They have one son...
Commander - RSA - Mikhail KorniyenkoMikhail KorniyenkoMikhail Borisovich Korniyenko is a Russian cosmonaut.-Personal:...
Flight Engineer - RSA - Gregory ChamitoffGregory ChamitoffGregory Errol Chamitoff is an engineer and NASA astronaut. He was assigned to Expedition 17 and flew to the International Space Station on STS-124, launching 31 May 2008. He was in space 198 days, joining Expedition 18 after Expedition 17 left the station, and returned to Earth 30 November 2008 on...
Flight Engineer - NASA (for Anderson)
Mission details
- Launch: 7 April 2007 17:31 UTCCoordinated Universal TimeCoordinated 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...
- Docking: 9 April 2007 07:10 UTC
- Undocking: 21 October 2007 07:14 UTC
- Landing: 21 October 2007 10:46 UTC
- LandingSite: Ballistic Trajectory Landing Site northwest of ArkalykArkalykArkalyk is a city in Kostanay Province, northern Kazakhstan. Earlier, it was the centre of Torgay province, which was abolished in 1997. Today, it is the administrative centre of Torgay region, Kostanay province....
On 21 October 2007, after the separation of the Soyuz TMA-10 capsule, Moscow Mission Control reported that the Soyuz had entered into a ballistic trajectory
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
, which resulted in a landing that was 340 kilometres (211.3 mi) short of the intended 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...
landing site. 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 only other time a Soyuz landing had resulted in a ballistic trajectory was the landing of Soyuz TMA-1
Soyuz TMA-1
-Mission parameters:*Mass: 7,220 kg , gross *Perigee: 193 km *Apogee: 235 km *Inclination: 51.6° *Period: 88.7 minutes-Docking with ISS:*Docked to ISS: November 1, 2002, 05:01 UTC...
, for Expedition 6
Expedition 6
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...
. Another ballistic trajectory occurred with the landing of Soyuz TMA-11
Soyuz TMA-11
Soyuz TMA-11 was a human spaceflight mission using a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft to transport personnel to and from the International Space Station . The mission began at 13:22 UTC on October 10, 2007 when the spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle...
on 19 April 2008 for Expedition 16
Expedition 16
Expedition 16 was the 16th expedition to the International Space Station .The first two crew members, Yuri Malenchenko and Peggy Whitson, launched on 10 October 2007, aboard Soyuz TMA-11, and were joined by spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, the first Malaysian in space.Expedition 15...
.
EVAs
- EVA 1: 30 May 2007 - Yurchikhin/Kotov, 5 hours, 25 minutes.
- EVA 2: 6 June 2007 - Yurchikhin/Kotov, 5 hours, 37 minutes.
- EVA 3: 23 July 2007 - Yurchikhin/Anderson 7 hours, 41 minutes.
External links
- 04/04/07: Soyuz Assembly Complete: Expedition 15 to Launch on April 7. Site includes all ISS Status Reports since 2003.
- Expedition 15 Photography