Expedition 8 Mission Journal |
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Soyuz TMA-3 has landed in Kazakhstan.LEFT: (L-R) Expedition Eight commander Michael Foale, ISS Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri, and ESA astronaut Pedro Duque.Duque will only stay for eight days and then return with Expedition Seven. RIGHT: Expedition 8 patch. |
Mission: | International Space Station Expedition 8 | |
Launch Vehicle: | Soyuz TMA-3 on Soyuz FG rocket | |
Return Vehicle: | Soyuz TMA-3. Duque will return with Expedition 7 on Soyuz TMA-2 | |
Crew: | 3 (1 American & 1 Russian for ISS, plus 1 Spaniard for ESA "Cervantes" mission) | |
Duration: | 194 Days | |
Launch Time: | 18 October 2003, 1:38AM EDT (0538 GMT) | |
Launch Window: | ? minutes | |
Launch Facility: | Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan | |
Docking: | 20 October 2003, 3:17AM EDT (0717 GMT) | |
EVAs: | 1 | |
Orbit Period: | 88.66 minutes | |
Orbit Altitude: | 194.1 - 244.4 kilometers | |
Orbit Inclination: | 51.66° | |
Undocking: | 29 April 2004, 4:46PM EDT (Estimated) | |
Landing: | 29 April 2004, 7:58PM EDT (Estimated) | |
Landing Location: | Republic of Kazakhstan | |
Flight stats: | 3rd flight of Soyuz TMA spacecraft |
Mission info from NASA Human Spaceflight, Energia Corporation, and European Space Agency websites
Next ISS Crew to Arrive in October
The next crew, Expedition 8, to inhabit the International Space Station is slated to arrive at the orbital outpost in late October. After relieving the Expedition 7 crew, Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri are scheduled to spend about six months aboard the orbital outpost maintaining ISS operations and continuing science investigation.
The Expedition 8 crewmembers will travel to the ISS aboard the ISS Soyuz 8 spacecraft. They will be joined by European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque, who will fly as part of a contract between ESA and Rosaviakosmos, the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.
Expedition 8 is slated to launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on Oct. 18 and dock with the Station on Oct. 20. There will be a week of joint operations and handover activities before Duque and the Expedition 7 crew depart the ISS and return to Earth on Oct. 27.
Russian flight rules dictate that a Soyuz remains docked to the ISS and replaced by a fresh Soyuz every six months. Should the station's resident crew encounter an emergency requiring them to disembark the orbital outpost, they would enter the Soyuz lifeboat, undock from the station and de-orbit for a landing on Earth. The Russian spacecraft is certified to remain in space no longer than six months due to the degradation of its propellant over time and space radiation hazards to the vehicle.
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