Expedition 2
Encyclopedia
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 Russia
n, Commander Yury Usachev
, and two American
flight engineers Susan Helms and James Voss. 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 Expedition's increment began when Discovery undocked on 10 March 2001, bringing Expedition 1 to an end. In addition to the Space Shuttle flights which brought the crew to and from the station, there were two visiting Space Shuttle missions and one Soyuz mission which docked with the ISS during Expedition Two.
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.
. 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
(EO-15 and EO-21
).
In addition to STS-101, flight engineer Susan Helms had three other spaceflights, all of which were Space Shuttle missions (STS-54
, STS-64
, STS-78
). James Voss also had three other spaceflights, all of which were Space Shuttle missions (STS-44
, STS-53
, STS-69
).
Expedition 2, the second long-term 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.
During this expedition, research facilities launched to the Space Station included a Human Research Facility, two EXPRESS (Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station) Racks, one of which contains the Active Rack Isolation System and the Payload Equipment Restraint System. 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 and cause cancer or injury to the central nervous system.
. They docked with the International Space Station on 10 March, but their the Expedition 2 increment didn't begin until the previous crew undocked from the station on 18 March.
, 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.
docked to the station, carrying two cosmonauts with previous spaceflight experience, as well as Dennis Tito
, the first ever space tourist. This 8 day mission is sometimes referred to as ISS EP-1, ISS-2S, Soyuz 2 Taxi Flight, or simply by its launching spacecraft Soyuz TM-32. The Commander of this visiting mission was Kazakh
cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev
, who had previously been on two long-duration missions aboard the space station Mir
in the 1990s. The other crew member of ISS EP-1 was Yuri Baturin
, who had one other spaceflight, Mir EP-4, which was a visiting mission to Mir launched with the spacecraft Soyuz TM-28
. Baturin's first mission occurred during the long-duration mission Mir EO-25, so he and Musabayev had already been in space together prior to ISS EP-1; in fact both were landed with the spacecraft Soyuz TM-27
in August 1998.
docked with the station for an eight-day visit as a part of STS-104
. The main objective of this mission was to install the Quest Joint Airlock onto the station.
The STS-104 crew performed 3 spacewalks
.
First spacewalk; Joint Airlock Installation
The first spacewalk occurred on July 15, and focused on installation of the Quest Joint Airlock. The spacewalkers helped as Susan Helms, using the station's robotic arm, lifted the new station airlock from Atlantis' payload bay and moved it to the station's Unity module. During much of the 5 hour, 59 minute spacewalk, Jim Reilly worked from a foot platform attached to the end of the shuttle's robotic arm, operated by Janet Kavandi. After the spacewalk, crew members inside the Station attached connections to the airlock to prevent thermal damage.
Second spacewalk
The second spacewalk which happened on July 18, lasted 6 hours, 29 minutes. The internal hatches between the shuttle and station were closed at the end of Flight Day 6 so Atlantis' cabin pressure could be lowered in preparation for the second spacewalk. The major objective was to attach and connect an oxygen and a nitrogen tank. Susan Helms operated the station arm to lift the tanks from the shuttle's payload bay and maneuver them to the new airlock. At the airlock, Mike Gernhardt and Jim Reilly latched the tanks in place and connected cables and hoses. The spacewalkers were able to get ahead of schedule and also install another oxygen tank, leaving only one tank to be connected on the third spacewalk.
Third spacewalk
The third spacewalk, which occurred on July 21, was the first spacewalk based out of the new Quest Joint Airlock, and lasted 4 hours, 2 minutes. Primary objective was to install the final nitrogen tank outside the airlock. This spacewalk tested a new protocol developed by former commercial diver Mike Gernhardt: essentially exercising while breathing oxygen to purge nitrogen from the spacewalkers' bodies.
, which carried the three Expedition 2 crew members back down to Earth. They undocked from the station on 20 August 2001, marking the end of the Expedition 2 increment.
. One of the experiments on EXPRESS Rank No. 2 was the Experiment of Physics of Colloid
s in Space. Several different colloid mixtures were studied, and the analysis is still underway.
Spaceflight
Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...
aboard the International Space Station
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...
, immediately following Expedition 1
Expedition 1
Expedition 1, or Expedition One, 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. It was the beginning of an uninterrupted human presence on the station which still continues, as of...
. 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
Dennis Tito
Dennis Anthony Tito is an Italian American engineer and multimillionaire, most widely known as the first space tourist to fund his own trip into space. In mid-2001, he spent nearly eight days in orbit as a crew member of ISS EP-1, a visiting mission to the International Space Station...
, and conducted some scientific experiments.
The crew consisted of one Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n, Commander Yury Usachev
Yury Usachev
Yury Vladimirovich Usachov is a former cosmonaut who resides in Star City, Moscow. Usachov is a veteran of four spaceflights, including two long duration missions on board the Mir Space Station and another on board the International Space Station...
, and two American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
flight engineers Susan Helms and James Voss. The three had been to the station briefly in the previous year, during the 10-day mission STS-101
STS-101
-Mission parameters:* Mass:** Orbiter landing with payload: ** Payload: * Perigee: * Apogee: * Inclination: 51.6°* Period: 91 min-Space walks:* Voss and Williams – EVA 1...
in May 2000.
The Expedition 2 crew was brought to the station aboard 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...
during mission STS-102
STS-102
STS-102 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Discovery and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida...
. The Expedition's increment began when Discovery undocked on 10 March 2001, bringing Expedition 1 to an end. In addition to the Space Shuttle flights which brought the crew to and from the station, there were two visiting Space Shuttle missions and one Soyuz mission which docked with the ISS during Expedition Two.
In August Discovery returned to rotate the long-duration crews again, bringing the crew of the next expedition
Expedition 3
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 September 11 terrorist attacks, which the crew photographed and videoed from the ISS.- Crew :- Mission...
. The Expedition 2 increment ended when Discovery undocked from the station on 20 August 2001.
Crew
All three crew members had visited the International Space Station together in May 2000 aboard STS-101STS-101
-Mission parameters:* Mass:** Orbiter landing with payload: ** Payload: * Perigee: * Apogee: * Inclination: 51.6°* Period: 91 min-Space walks:* Voss and Williams – EVA 1...
. 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
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
(EO-15 and EO-21
Mir EO-21
Mir EO-21 was a long-duration mission aboard the Russian Space station Mir, which occurred between February and September 1996. The crew consisted of two Russian cosmonauts, Commander Yuri Onufrienko and Yury Usachov, as well as American astronaut Shannon Lucid...
).
In addition to STS-101, flight engineer Susan Helms had three other spaceflights, all of which were Space Shuttle missions (STS-54
STS-54
-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 90.6 min-Space walks:* Harbaugh and Runco – EVA 1*EVA 1 Start: 17 January 1993...
, STS-64
STS-64
STS-64 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission to perform multiple experiment packages. It was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 9 September 1994.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: payload*Perigee: *Apogee:...
, STS-78
STS-78
STS-78 was the fifth dedicated Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission for the Space Shuttle program, flown partly in preparation for the International Space Station project...
). James Voss also had three other spaceflights, all of which were Space Shuttle missions (STS-44
STS-44
-Mission parameters:**Launch: **Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 91.9 minutes-Mission highlights:The launch was on 24 November 1991 at 6:44:00 pm EST...
, STS-53
STS-53
-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 57.0°*Period: 92.0 min-Mission highlights:...
, STS-69
STS-69
STS-69 was a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission, and the second flight of the Wake Shield Facility . The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 7 September 1995.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: payload*Perigee:...
).
Mission highlights
STS-105
STS-105 was a mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station, launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, 10 August 2001. This mission was Discoverys final mission until STS-114, because Discovery was grounded for a refit, and then all Shuttles were grounded in the wake...
, 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.
During this expedition, research facilities launched to the Space Station included a Human Research Facility, two EXPRESS (Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station) Racks, one of which contains the Active Rack Isolation System and the Payload Equipment Restraint System. 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 and cause cancer or injury to the central nervous system.
Launch and docking
The three-member Expedition 2 crew successfully launched on 8 March 2001 on Space Shuttle Discovery during mission STS-102STS-102
STS-102 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Discovery and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida...
. They docked with the International Space Station on 10 March, but their the Expedition 2 increment didn't begin until the previous crew undocked from the station on 18 March.
STS-100
The first visitors to the station during Expedition 2 was the crew of STS-100STS-100
STS-100 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. STS-100 installed the ISS Canadarm2 robotic arm.- Crew :- Mission parameters :* Mass:** Orbiter liftoff:...
, when they docked 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...
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
STS-111
STS-111 was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. STS-111 resupplied the station and replaced the Expedition 4 crew with the Expedition 5 crew...
, would deliver a movable base platform which would allow the Canadarm2 to have a larger range.
ISS EP-1
On the day after the Space Shuttle undocked, the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-32Soyuz TM-32
Soyuz TM-32 was a manned Russian spacecraft which was launched on April 28, 2001, and docked with the International Space Station two days later. It launched the crew of the visiting mission ISS EP-1, which included the first paying space tourist Dennis Tito, as well as two Russian cosmonauts...
docked to the station, carrying two cosmonauts with previous spaceflight experience, as well as Dennis Tito
Dennis Tito
Dennis Anthony Tito is an Italian American engineer and multimillionaire, most widely known as the first space tourist to fund his own trip into space. In mid-2001, he spent nearly eight days in orbit as a crew member of ISS EP-1, a visiting mission to the International Space Station...
, the first ever space tourist. This 8 day mission is sometimes referred to as ISS EP-1, ISS-2S, Soyuz 2 Taxi Flight, or simply by its launching spacecraft Soyuz TM-32. The Commander of this visiting mission was Kazakh
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...
cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev
Talgat Musabayev
Talgat Amangeldyuly Musabayev , is a Kazakh test pilot and former cosmonaut who flew on three spaceflights. His first two spaceflights were long-duration stays aboard the Russian space station Mir. His third spaceflight was a short duration visiting mission to the International Space Station, which...
, who had previously been on two long-duration missions aboard the space station Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
in the 1990s. The other crew member of ISS EP-1 was Yuri Baturin
Yuri Baturin
Yuri Mikhailovich Baturin , is a Russian cosmonaut and former politician.Baturin graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 1973, and is the former head of National Security; he is also an author in constitutional law....
, who had one other spaceflight, Mir EP-4, which was a visiting mission to Mir launched with the spacecraft Soyuz TM-28
Soyuz TM-28
TM-28 was a Soyuz mission to the Mir space station.-Crew:-Mission Accomplishments:*Docked with Mir*Baturin is first Russian politician in space...
. Baturin's first mission occurred during the long-duration mission Mir EO-25, so he and Musabayev had already been in space together prior to ISS EP-1; in fact both were landed with the spacecraft Soyuz TM-27
Soyuz TM-27
-Mission accomplishments:*Docked with Mir*Exchange part of crew*Carried out French mission PEGASE*Conducted routine science experiments-EVA schedule:*03.03.1998 aborted due to faulty hatch*01.04.1998 *06.04.1998 *11.04.1998...
in August 1998.
STS-104
In July, Space Shuttle AtlantisSpace 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...
docked with the station for an eight-day visit as a part of STS-104
STS-104
STS-104 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. Its primary objectives were to install the Quest Joint Airlock and help perform maintenance on the International Space Station...
. The main objective of this mission was to install the Quest Joint Airlock onto the station.
The STS-104 crew performed 3 spacewalks
Extra-vehicular activity
Extra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
.
First spacewalk; Joint Airlock Installation
The first spacewalk occurred on July 15, and focused on installation of the Quest Joint Airlock. The spacewalkers helped as Susan Helms, using the station's robotic arm, lifted the new station airlock from Atlantis' payload bay and moved it to the station's Unity module. During much of the 5 hour, 59 minute spacewalk, Jim Reilly worked from a foot platform attached to the end of the shuttle's robotic arm, operated by Janet Kavandi. After the spacewalk, crew members inside the Station attached connections to the airlock to prevent thermal damage.
Second spacewalk
The second spacewalk which happened on July 18, lasted 6 hours, 29 minutes. The internal hatches between the shuttle and station were closed at the end of Flight Day 6 so Atlantis' cabin pressure could be lowered in preparation for the second spacewalk. The major objective was to attach and connect an oxygen and a nitrogen tank. Susan Helms operated the station arm to lift the tanks from the shuttle's payload bay and maneuver them to the new airlock. At the airlock, Mike Gernhardt and Jim Reilly latched the tanks in place and connected cables and hoses. The spacewalkers were able to get ahead of schedule and also install another oxygen tank, leaving only one tank to be connected on the third spacewalk.
Third spacewalk
The third spacewalk, which occurred on July 21, was the first spacewalk based out of the new Quest Joint Airlock, and lasted 4 hours, 2 minutes. Primary objective was to install the final nitrogen tank outside the airlock. This spacewalk tested a new protocol developed by former commercial diver Mike Gernhardt: essentially exercising while breathing oxygen to purge nitrogen from the spacewalkers' bodies.
Undocking and landing
In August, Space Shuttle Discovery returned to the station during the mission STS-105STS-105
STS-105 was a mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station, launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, 10 August 2001. This mission was Discoverys final mission until STS-114, because Discovery was grounded for a refit, and then all Shuttles were grounded in the wake...
, which carried the three Expedition 2 crew members back down to Earth. They undocked from the station on 20 August 2001, marking the end of the Expedition 2 increment.
Mission Patch
The International Space Station Expedition Two patch depicts the Space Station as it appeared during the time the second crew was on board. The Station flying over the Earth represents the overall reason for having a space station: to benefit the world through scientific research and international cooperation in space. The number 2 is for the second expedition and is enclosed in the Cyrillic MKS and Latin ISS which are the respective Russian and English abbreviations for the International Space Station. The United States and Russian flags show the nationalities of the crew indicating the joint nature of the program. When asked about the stars in the background, a crew spokesperson said they "...represent the thousands of space workers throughout the ISS partnership who have contributed to the successful construction of our International Space Station."Science activities
Two science racks, known as EXPRESS Racks No. 1 and 2, were delivered to the station in April aboard STS-100STS-100
STS-100 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. STS-100 installed the ISS Canadarm2 robotic arm.- Crew :- Mission parameters :* Mass:** Orbiter liftoff:...
. One of the experiments on EXPRESS Rank No. 2 was the Experiment of Physics of Colloid
Colloid
A colloid is a substance microscopically dispersed evenly throughout another substance.A colloidal system consists of two separate phases: a dispersed phase and a continuous phase . A colloidal system may be solid, liquid, or gaseous.Many familiar substances are colloids, as shown in the chart below...
s in Space. Several different colloid mixtures were studied, and the analysis is still underway.