Expedition 8
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Crew
- Michael Foale (6), Commander - U.S.A.
- Alexander Kaleri (4), Flight Engineer - Russia
(1) number of spaceflights each crew member has completed, including this mission.
Mission parameters
- Perigee: 384 km
- Apogee: 396 km
- Inclination: 51.6°
- Period: 92 min
- Docked: October 20, 2003 - 07:15:58 UTC
- Undocked: April 29, 2004 - 20:52:09 UTC
- Time Docked: 192 days, 13 h, 36 min, 11 s
Image:Expedition Eight Foale Kaleri.jpg
Mission Objectives
Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Station Science Officer Michael Foale, Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri and Duque docked the Soyuz TMA-3 with the International Space Station at 3:16 a.m. EDT (0716 GMT) on October 20. At the time of docking, both spacecraft orbited the Earth above Russia.
Once the Expedition 7 crew undocks, Foale and Kaleri will settle down to work, beginning a more than six-month stint focused on Station operations and maintenance.
The new Station crew, along with Duque, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:38 a.m. EDT Saturday, October 18.
Spacewalks
The Expedition 8 crew conducted the first two-person spacewalk at the International Space Station. Unlike previous spacewalks conducted by ISS crews, there was not a crewmember inside the Station as the spacewalkers worked outside.
The spacewalk, which is also known as an extravehicular activity, was based out of the Pirs Docking Compartment. The spacewalkers wore Russian Orlan space suits.
This was the 52nd spacewalk devoted to Space Station assembly, operations and maintenance, bringing the cumulative total to 322 hours and 32 minutes. It was the 27th based out of the Station, bringing the total to 155 hours and 17 minutes.
EVA Cosmonauts and Astronauts and Suit ID
Michael Foale (EV1): blue stripes
Alexander Kaleri (EV2): red stripes
Spacewalk
Michael Foale, Alexander Kaleri
Time: 3 hours, 55 minutes
Start time: 3:17 p.m. CST (2117 GMT) 26 February 2004
End time: 7:12 p.m. CST 26 February 2004 (0112 GMT 27 February 2004)
This spacewalk was cut short due a cooling system malfunction in Kaleri's spacesuit. Although the spacewalk ended early, Foale and Kaleri were able to complete a number of their tasks.
The first task was the replacement of cassette containers that hold sample materials for an experiment studying the effect of long-duration exposure to the microgravity environment. Later, Foale replaced two similar cassettes housed on the outside of Zvezda.
They attached to the outer hull of the Zvezda Service Module a Russian experiment named Matryoshka, which will provide data on radiation exposure to the human body during space flight.
The spacewalkers also removed one of the suitcase-sized devices associated with the Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency's MPAC-SEEDS experiment. They relocated a second device. This experiment is studying micro-meteor impacts and material exposure in the space environment. This experiment was installed on the ISS by Expedition 3 spacewalkers 15 October 2001.
The crew was not able to complete the removal of laser light retroreflector devices from the aft end of Zvezda. The reflectors are being studied as navigation devices for the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle, which is slated to arrive at the ISS in 2005.
Another task not included was work on a materials science experiment called Kromka. This experiment measures the amount of residue emitted from Zvezda's jet thruster firings.
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