Expedition 25
Encyclopedia
Expedition 25 was the twenty-fifth long-duration mission to the International Space Station
(ISS). Expedition 25 began with the Soyuz TMA-18
undocking on 25 September 2010. Three new crewmembers (Scott Kelly, Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka) 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, taking over from Russia's Aleksandr Skvortsov
. 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. Progress M-08M docked with the space 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 re-scheduled 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
and Yuri Gidzenko
became the first residents of the space station. Expedition 25 ended on 26 November.
Source: NASA
in Kazakhstan
, Expedition 25 Soyuz Commander Alexander Kaleri, NASA Flight Engineer Scott Kelly and Russian Flight Engineer Oleg Skripochka participated in a variety of activities from 26 September to 4 October 2010 as they prepared for their launch on 8 October 2010 (7 October 2010 U.S. Eastern time) in their Soyuz TMA-01M
spacecraft to the International Space Station. The footage includes the crew's arrival in Baikonur, their suited and unsuited fit checks in their Soyuz spacecraft, the raising of flags outside their Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters and other traditional activities. 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 (Complex 17P32-5) at Baikonur Cosmodrome on a rail-car 5 October 2010 for final preparations prior to launch.
Experiments to be carried out include:
, which came to the station in May 2010, was undocked on 25 October 2010 to make room for another resupply spacecraft - 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 Baikonur's Gagarin's launch pad at 15:11:50 UTC on 27 October 2010. After three days of autonomous 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 space station forced cosmonauts on the station to intervene. During station-keeping as part of the rendezvous operations, flight controllers in Moscow instructed cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri to activate the TORU
manual docking equipment and take over the piloting tasks from the Progress' autonomous KURS system. The switch to manual mode was decided at range of 194 m. Kaleri worked inside the space station's 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.
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). Expedition 25 began with the Soyuz TMA-18
Soyuz TMA-18
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.- Crew :- Backup crew :- Launch :...
undocking on 25 September 2010. Three new crewmembers (Scott Kelly, Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka) arrived aboard the ISS October 2010 on Soyuz TMA-01M
Soyuz TMA-01M
- Backup crew :- Spacecraft :Soyuz TMA-01M is the first spacecraft of the new modernized Soyuz TMA-M series, developed and built by RKK Energia as an upgrade of the baseline Soyuz-TMA, which has been in use since 2002. 36 obsolete pieces of equipment have been replaced with 19 new-generation...
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, taking over from Russia's Aleksandr Skvortsov
Aleksandr Skvortsov (cosmonaut)
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Skvortsov is a Russian cosmonaut. He has had one spaceflight, which was a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station. His spaceflight took place from April to September 2010, and was launched with the spacecraft Soyuz TMA-18. He arrived at the station part...
. The departure of Wheelock, Walker and Yurchikhin on 25 November 2010 marked the official end of Expedition 25.
During Expedition 25 Progress M-08M
Progress M-08M
Progress M-08M , identified by NASA as Progress 40 or 40P, is a Progress spacecraft which was used to resupply the International Space Station. It was the eighth Progress-M 11F615A60 spacecraft to be launched, the fifth for the year 2010. The spacecraft was manufactured by RKK Energia, and was...
spacecraft visited the ISS. Progress M-08M docked with the space station on 30 October 2010 bringing 2.5 tons of cargo supplies. Space shuttle Discovery on STS-133
STS-133
STS-133 was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station. It was Discoverys 39th and final mission. The mission launched on 24 February 2011, and landed on 9 March 2011...
mission was scheduled to arrive at the ISS on 3 November 2010 but was re-scheduled 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
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...
Commander William Shepherd
William Shepherd
William McMichael Shepherd is a former American astronaut who served as commander of Expedition 1, the first crew on the International Space Station. Shepherd is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.-Biography:...
and Flight Engineers Sergei Krikalev
Sergei Krikalev
Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev is a Russian cosmonaut and mechanical engineer. As a prominent rocket scientist, he has been veteran of six space flights and currently has spent more time in space than any other human being.On August 16, 2005 at 1:44 a.m...
and Yuri Gidzenko
Yuri Gidzenko
Yuri Pavlovich Gidzenko is a Russian cosmonaut. He was a test cosmonaut of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center . Gidzenko has flown twice into space and has lived on board the Mir and International Space Stations. He has also conducted two career spacewalks. Although he retired on July 15,...
became the first residents of the space station. Expedition 25 ended on 26 November.
Crew
| Position | First part (September 2010) |
Second part (October 2010 to November 2010) |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Douglas H. Wheelock Douglas H. Wheelock Douglas Harry "Wheels" Wheelock is an American astronaut. He has flown in space twice logging 178 days on the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and Russian Soyuz... , 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 1 | Shannon Walker Shannon Walker 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... , NASA First spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 2 | 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... Third spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 3 | Scott J. Kelly, NASA Third spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 4 | Aleksandr Kaleri, RSA Fifth spaceflight |
|
| Flight Engineer 5 | Oleg Skripochka Oleg Skripochka Oleg Ivanovich Skripochka is a Russian cosmonaut. In 2011 he was in space serving as an Expedition 25/26 crewmember.-Education:... , RSA First spaceflight |
|
Source: NASA
Backup crew
- Andrei BorisenkoAndrei BorisenkoAndrei 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...
- Commander - Paolo Nespoli
- Catherine ColemanCatherine ColemanCatherine Grace "Cady" Coleman is an American chemist, a former United States Air Force officer, and a current NASA astronaut...
- Anatoli IvanishinAnatoli IvanishinAnatoli Alekseyevich Ivanishin is a Russian cosmonaut. His first visit to the space was on board the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft launched on 14 November 2011.- Personal :Ivanishin is married to Svetlana Ivanishina. They have one son, Vladislav, born in 1993...
- Sergei RevinSergei RevinSergei Nikolayevich Revin is a Russian cosmonaut that was selected in 1996, and completed spaceflight training in 1998. Revin may serve as a backup crewmember for Flight Engineer Oleg Skripochka on the Expedition 22 crew bound for the International Space Station. Revin is married to Irina...
- Ronald J. Garan, Jr.Ronald J. Garan, Jr.Ronald John Garan, Jr. is a NASA astronaut. After graduating from State University of New York College at Oneonta in 1982, he joined the Air Force, becoming a Second Lieutenant in 1984. He became an F-16 pilot, and flew combat missions in Desert Shield and Desert Storm...
Preflight preparations
At the 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...
in 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...
, Expedition 25 Soyuz Commander Alexander Kaleri, NASA Flight Engineer Scott Kelly and Russian Flight Engineer Oleg Skripochka participated in a variety of activities from 26 September to 4 October 2010 as they prepared for their launch on 8 October 2010 (7 October 2010 U.S. Eastern time) in their Soyuz TMA-01M
Soyuz TMA-01M
- Backup crew :- Spacecraft :Soyuz TMA-01M is the first spacecraft of the new modernized Soyuz TMA-M series, developed and built by RKK Energia as an upgrade of the baseline Soyuz-TMA, which has been in use since 2002. 36 obsolete pieces of equipment have been replaced with 19 new-generation...
spacecraft to the International Space Station. The footage includes the crew's arrival in Baikonur, their suited and unsuited fit checks in their Soyuz spacecraft, the raising of flags outside their Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters and other traditional activities. 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 (Complex 17P32-5) at Baikonur Cosmodrome on a rail-car 5 October 2010 for final preparations prior to launch.
Experiments
Russian Federal Space Agency revealed that during Expedition 25 and 26, 504 sessions of 41 experiments (34 experiments from previous Expeditions and seven new experiments) are planned to be implemented. The new experiments include, Molniya-Gamma, Sprut-2, UHF-radiometry, SLS, VIRU, Test and Colon Crystal.Experiments to be carried out include:
| Field | Experiment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Life science | Sonocard, Pilot, Vzaimodeystviye, Tipologia, Pneumocard, Sprut-2, Biorisk | The Biorisk experiment aims to study the effects of microbial bacteria and fungus on structural materials used in spacecraft construction. |
| Geophysical research | Relaxation, Uragan, Impulse, Vsplesk, Shadow-Beacon, Molniya-Gamma | The Molniya-Gamma experiment measures gamma rays and optical radiation during terrestrial lightning Lightning Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms... and thunder conditions to study terrestrial gamma-ray flash Terrestrial gamma-ray flash Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes are bursts of gamma rays in the Earth's atmosphere. TGFs have been recorded to last 0.2 to 3.5 milliseconds, and have energies of up to 20 MeV. They are probably caused by electric fields produced above thunderstorms... es and upper-atmospheric lightning Upper-atmospheric lightning Upper-atmospheric lightning or upper-atmospheric discharge are terms sometimes used by researchers to refer to a family of short-lived electrical-breakdown phenomena that occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds. Upper-atmospheric lightning is believed to be electrically... . |
| Remote sensing | MW-radiometry, Rusalka, Zeiner, Econ | The Rusalka experiment is a test of procedures for remote determination of Methane Methane Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel... and Carbon Dioxide Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom... content in the Earth’s atmosphere. |
| Space biotechnology | Lactolen, Biotrek, Biodegradatsia, Zhinseng-2, Structure, Constanta | |
| Technical research | Vektor-T, Izgib, Identification, Veterok, SLS, Sreda-MKS, Contur, VIRU, Bar, Test, RadioSkaf | |
| Contract activities | EXPOSE-R | Expose-R experiment is a European Space Agency (ESA) experiment designed to expose organic material to the extreme environment of space. |
| Study of cosmic rays | BTN-Neutron, Matryoshka-R | |
| Educational and humanitarian projects | MAI-75, Colon Crystal | |
| Space technology and material science | Crystallizator, Plasma crystal |
Mission highlights
Progress M-05M undocking
The Russian resupply spacecraft Progress M-05MProgress M-05M
Progress M-05M, identified by NASA as Progress 37P, is a Progress spacecraft launched by the Russian Federal Space Agency in April 2010 to resupply the International Space Station . The spacecraft carried fresh food and supplies for the ISS crew...
, which came to the station in May 2010, was undocked on 25 October 2010 to make room for another resupply spacecraft - Progress M-08M
Progress M-08M
Progress M-08M , identified by NASA as Progress 40 or 40P, is a Progress spacecraft which was used to resupply the International Space Station. It was the eighth Progress-M 11F615A60 spacecraft to be launched, the fifth for the year 2010. The spacecraft was manufactured by RKK Energia, and was...
.
Progress M-08M
Progress M-08MProgress M-08M
Progress M-08M , identified by NASA as Progress 40 or 40P, is a Progress spacecraft which was used to resupply the International Space Station. It was the eighth Progress-M 11F615A60 spacecraft to be launched, the fifth for the year 2010. The spacecraft was manufactured by RKK Energia, and was...
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
Soyuz-U
The Soyuz-U launch vehicle is an improved version of the original Soyuz LV. Soyuz-U is part of the R-7 family of rockets based on the R-7 Semyorka missile. Members of this rocket family were designed by the TsSKB design bureau and constructed at the Progress Factory in Samara, Russia....
carrier rocket with Progress M-08M, identified by NASA as Progress 40 or 40P, was launched from the Baikonur's Gagarin's launch pad at 15:11:50 UTC on 27 October 2010. After three days of autonomous 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 space station forced cosmonauts on the station to intervene. During station-keeping as part of the rendezvous operations, flight controllers in Moscow instructed cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri to activate the TORU
TORU
TORU system is a manual docking system of Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft that serves as a backup to the automatic Kurs system . It was used on the Mir, Salyut and is currently used on the International Space Station...
manual docking equipment and take over the piloting tasks from the Progress' autonomous KURS system. The switch to manual mode was decided at range of 194 m. Kaleri worked inside the space station's Zvezda module to fly Progress M-08M remotely using television views and a pair of joysticks and guided it to the successful docking.
Spacewalks
| Mission | Spacewalkers | Start (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... ) |
End (UTC) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expedition 25 EVA 1 ‡ |
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... Oleg Skripochka Oleg Skripochka Oleg Ivanovich Skripochka is a Russian cosmonaut. In 2011 he was in space serving as an Expedition 25/26 crewmember.-Education:... |
15 November 2010 14:55 |
15 November 2010 21:22 |
6 hours and 27 minutes |
| Yurchikhin and Skripochka installed a portable multipurpose workstation in Plane IV in the Zvezda large diameter and installed struts between Poisk module and Zvezda module and Poisk module and Zarya module. They performed an experiment called Test, which was aimed at verifying the existence of micro organisms or contamination underneath insulation on the Russian segment of the ISS. Yurchikhin and Skripochka photographed and installed the protective cover and disconnected and removed the Plasma Pulse Injector Science hardware from the portable multipurpose workstation in Plane II of the Zvezda. They cleaned the Kontur science hardware (ROKVISS) with dry towels and then disconnected and then removed it. Yurchikhin and Skripochka also installed the protective cover and disconnected and removed the Expose-R scientific experiment from the portable multipurpose workstation in Plane II of the Zvezda module. The Kontur experiment studied remote object control capability for robotic arms and the Expose-R experiment is a European Space Agency experiment designed to expose organic material to the extreme environment of space. Yurchikhin and Skripochka installed an oft hand-rail on Pirs docking module and installed the SKK #1-M2 cassette on Poisk module. The cosmonauts also removed a television camera from the Rassvet module, however they were unsuccessful in relocating the camera due to interference with insulation where it was to be installed. | ||||
‡ denotes spacewalks performed from the Pirs docking compartment in Russian Orlan suits.