Expedition 7 Mission Journal  

Soyuz TMA-2 Mission Overview

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Soyuz TMA-2 Crew Portrait. Photo courtesy of NASA.
Soyuz TMA-2 has returned from the ISS.

LEFT: (L-R) Expedition Seven Commander Yuri I. Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer/Flight Engineer Edward T. Lu.
RIGHT: Expedition 7 patch.

Expedition 7 patch. Image courtsy of NASA.

Latest Mission News

ISS Expedition 7/Soyuz Taxi Flight 6 Updated Flight Facts:

Mission:   International Space Station Expedition 7
Launch Vehicle: Soyuz TMA-2 on Soyuz FG rocket
Return Vehicle: Soyuz TMA-2
Crew: 2 (1 Russian, 1 American)
(Returning with 1 additional ESA astronaut flown up with Expedition 8)
Duration: 6 Months
Launch Time: 25 April 2003 11:54PM EDT
Launch Window: ? minutes
Launch Facility: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Docking: 28 April 2003, 1:56AM EDT (0556 GMT)
EVAs: None
Orbit Period: 92 minutes
Orbit Altitude: 202.22 - 258.76 kilometers
Orbit Inclination: 51.6°
Undocking: 27 October 2003, 6:18PM EST (2318 GMT)
Landing: 27 Oct, 9:41PM EST (28 Oct, 0241 GMT)
Landing Location: Republic of Kazakhstan
Flight stats: 2nd flight of Soyuz TMA spacecraft
6th launch of Soyuz FG rocket (first flight of Russian spacecraft with U.S. co-pilot)

Mission info from NASA Human Spaceflight, Energia Corporation, and European Space Agency websites

 

Expedition Seven Next ISS Crew
Expedition Seven NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu, left, and Commander Yuri Malenchenko use the virtual reality lab at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to train for their duties on the International Space Station. NASA photo.The International Space Station's next set of residents, the Expedition Seven crew, is slated to arrive April 28 at [1:56AM EDT/0556 GMT] aboard the Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft. The crew consists of Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and U.S. Astronaut Ed Lu. Malenchenko and Lu launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at [11:54PM EDT April 25/0354 GMT April 26].
Malenchenko, who will serve as commander, is a veteran of two spaceflights -- Mir 16 and STS-106. Lu, who will serve as a flight engineer and NASA ISS Science Officer, is a veteran of two shuttle flights -- STS-84 and STS-106. They will replace the Expedition Six crew, which has been at the station since Nov. 25, 2002. Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit will return to Earth on May 3 aboard the Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft currently docked to the station.
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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