Expedition 9
Encyclopedia
Expedition 9 was the 9th expedition to the International Space Station
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...

.

Crew

Mission parameters

  • Perigee
    Perigee
    Perigee is the point at which an object makes its closest approach to the Earth.. Often the term is used in a broader sense to define the point in an orbit where the orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits. The opposite is the apogee, the farthest or highest point.The Greek prefix "peri"...

    :
    384 km
  • Apogee: 396 km
  • Inclination
    Inclination
    Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...

    :
    51.6°
  • Period
    Orbital period
    The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...

    :
    92 min




Mission objectives

Padalka and Fincke arrived at the Station on 21 April 2004 aboard the Soyuz TMA-4
Soyuz TMA-4
Soyuz TMA-4 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle. It was launched on April 19, 2004 from Baikonur Cosmodrome. Gennady Padalka from Russia, Michael Fincke from the USA and André Kuipers from the Netherlands were flown to the International...

spacecraft with European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut André Kuipers
André Kuipers
André Kuipers is a Dutch physician and ESA astronaut. He officially became the second Dutch and the third Dutch-born astronaut upon launch of Soyuz TMA-4 on April 19, 2004. Kuipers returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-3 11 days later.Kuipers is scheduled to become the first Dutch astronaut to...

. After more than a week of joint operations and handover activities, Padalka and Fincke officially took command of the Station on 29 April when Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri left the Station. This mission was the site for the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity
Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity
The Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Project is a US Government funded study investigating strategies for applying diagnostic telemedicine to space. The Principal Investigator is Scott Dulchavsky, Chairman of Surgery at the Henry Ford Health System...

 Project.

Expedition 8 and Kuipers returned to Earth that same day aboard the Soyuz TMA-3
Soyuz TMA-3
-Mission parameters:*Mass: ? kg*Perigee: 193 km*Apogee: 227 km*Inclination: 51.7°*Period: 88.6 min-Docking with ISS:*Docked to ISS: October 20, 2003, 07:16 UTC...

 spacecraft. Kuipers' 11-day mission to the ISS was part of a commercial agreement between ESA and the Federal Space Agency of Russia.

Spacewalks

The Expedition 9 crew conducted four spacewalks during its stay at the International Space Station. The four spacewalks were devoted to ISS maintenance and assembly. All four were based out of the Pirs Docking Compartment and used Russian Orlan spacesuits.

Before these four extravehicular activities (EVAs), 52 spacewalks had been performed at the ISS, with 27 based out of the Station.

Gennady Padalka (EV1): red stripes
Mike Fincke (EV2): blue stripes

Spacewalk 1
Gennady Padalka, Mike Fincke
Time: 14 minutes, 22 seconds
Start time: 4:56 p.m. CDT (2156 GMT) 24 June 2004
End time: 5:10 p.m. CDT (2210 GMT) 24 June 2004

The spacewalk was cut short due to a pressure problem in Fincke's prime oxygen tank in his spacesuit. Mission managers decided to reschedule the spacewalk for 30 June.

Spacewalk 2
Gennady Padalka, Mike Fincke
Time: 5 hours, 40 minutes
Start time: 4:19 p.m. CDT (2119 GMT) 29 June 2004
End time: 9:59 p.m. CDT 29 June 2004 (0259 GMT 30 June 2004)

Padalka and Fincke replaced a Remote Power Controller (RPCM) that failed in late April, causing a loss of power in Control Moment Gyroscope No. 2 (CMG 2). A failed Remote Power Controller Module was responsible for the temporary loss of CMG 2 in April. The gyroscope is one of four that control the ISS' orientation.

Spacewalk 3
Gennady Padalka, Mike Fincke
Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes
Start time: 1:58 a.m. CDT (0658 GMT) 3 August 2004
End time: 6:28 a.m. CDT (1128 GMT) 3 August 2004

In preparation for the arrival of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), Padalka and Fincke removed laser retro reflectors from the Zvezda Service Module assembly compartment and installed three updated laser retro reflectors and one internal videometer target. They installed two antennas.

The spacewalkers removed Kromka Panel No. 2 and installed Kromka Panel No. 3. The Kromka experiment exposes various materials to the space environment. They also replaced another materials science experiment.

Spacewalk 4
Gennady Padalka, Mike Fincke
Time: 5 hours, 20 minutes
Start time: 16:43 UTC, 3 September 2004
End time: 22:04 UTC, 3 September 2004

Expedition 9's fourth scheduled EVA prepared the Station for future assembly operations and the arrival of the ATV. The spacewalkers replaced the Zarya Control Module flow control panel and installed four safety tether fairleads on Zarya's handrails.

ATV support operations included installing equipment for the air-to-air radio link antennas and removing all covers from antennas.

Other tasks included installing a Pressure Control and Exposure Monitor Sensor on Pirs and installing protective components on the brackets of Pirs' ring handrails on EVA Hatch No. 2.

Mission patch

The design of the Expedition 9 mission patch includes a tribute to astronauts and cosmonauts who gave their lives in space exploration. The outspread wings of the eagle have 16 stars and 1 star of David. They represent the Apollo 1
Apollo 1
Apollo 1 was scheduled to be the first manned mission of the Apollo manned lunar landing program, with a target launch date of February 21, 1967. A cabin fire during a launch pad test on January 27 at Launch Pad 34 at Cape Canaveral killed all three crew members: Command Pilot Virgil "Gus"...

 crew Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom
Gus Grissom
Virgil Ivan Grissom , , better known as Gus Grissom, was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force pilot...

, Ed White
Edward Higgins White
Edward Higgins White, II was an engineer, United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. On June 3, 1965, he became the first American to "walk" in space. White died along with fellow astronauts Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee during a pre-launch test for the first manned Apollo mission at...

 and Roger Chaffee. Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51L crew Francis "Dick" Scobee
Dick Scobee
Francis Richard "Dick" Scobee was an American astronaut. He was killed commanding the Space Shuttle Challenger, which suffered catastrophic booster failure during launch of the STS-51-L mission.-Early life:...

, Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNair
Ronald McNair
Ronald Ervin McNair, Ph.D. was a physicist and NASA astronaut. McNair died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L.-Background:...

, Ellison Onizuka
Ellison Onizuka
was a Japanese American astronaut from Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-51-C, before losing his life to the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger, where he was serving as Mission Specialist for mission STS-51-L...

, Gregory Jarvis
Gregory Jarvis
Gregory Bruce Jarvis was an American engineer who died during the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, where he was serving as Payload Specialist.-Education:...

, Judith Resnick and Christa McAuliffe
Christa McAuliffe
Christa McAuliffe was an American teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, and was one of the seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster....

. Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107
STS-107
-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter Liftoff: **Orbiter Landing: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 39.0°*Period: 90.1 min- Insignia :...

 crew Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool
William C. McCool
William Cameron "Willie" McCool was a United States Navy Commander, NASA astronaut and the pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS-107...

, David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-American astronaut with NASA. She was one of seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.-Early life:...

, Michael P. Anderson, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon
Ilan Ramon
Ilan Ramon was a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, and later the first Israeli astronaut....

, the first Israeli astronaut. Around the eagles neck are 4 small red stars and one larger red star. The large star is for Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....

, the first man in space during Vostok 1
Vostok 1
Vostok 1 was the first spaceflight in the Vostok program and the first human spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA spacecraft was launched on April 12, 1961. The flight took Yuri Gagarin, a cosmonaut from the Soviet Union, into space. The flight marked the first time that a human entered outer...

, who was killed during training for Soyuz 3
Soyuz 3
Soyuz 3 was a spaceflight mission launched by the Soviet Union on October 26, 1968. For four consecutive days, Commander Georgy Beregovoy piloted the Soyuz 7K-OK spacecraft through eighty-one orbits of Earth.-Crew:-Backup crew:...

. The other 4 are for Soyuz 1
Soyuz 1
Soyuz 1 was a manned spaceflight of the Soviet space program. Launched into orbit on April 23, 1967 carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 1 was the first flight of the Soyuz spacecraft...

 cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 11
Soyuz 11
Soyuz 11 was the first manned mission to arrive at the world's first space station, Salyut 1. The mission arrived at the space station on June 7, 1971 and departed on June 30, 1971. The mission ended in disaster when the crew capsule depressurized during preparations for re-entry, killing the...

 crew Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev
Viktor Patsayev
Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 11 mission and had the unfortunate distinction of being part of the second crew to die during a space flight...

 and Vladislav Volkov
Vladislav Volkov
Vladislav Nikolayevich Volkov was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 7 and Soyuz 11 missions. The second mission terminated fatally.-Biography:...

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External links

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