Expedition 8 Mission Journal  

Soyuz TMA-3 Mission Overview

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Soyuz TMA-3 Crew Portrait. Photo courtesy of Energia.
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.
Expedition 8 patch. Image courtesy of NASA.

ISS Expedition 8/Soyuz Taxi Flight 7 Flight Facts:

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
European Space Agency (ESA) Soyuz crewmember Pedro Duque (left), cosmonaut Alexander Y. Kaleri, Expedition 8 flight engineer representing Rosaviakosmos, and C. Michael Foale, mission commander. NASA photo.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.
The mission patch for Spain's "Cervantes" science mission. Image courtesy of ESA.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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