Expedition 8

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Expedition 8
Mission insignia
Expedition 8 insignia
Mission statistics
Mission name: Expedition 8
Call sign: Expedition 8
Number of crew: 2
Launch Date: October 18, 2003 05:38:03 UTC
Launch Spacecraft: Soyuz TMA-3
Landing Date: April 30, 2004 00:11:15 UTC
Landing Spacecraft: Soyuz TMA-3
Landing Site: near Arkalyk
Time Docked: 192 days 13:36:11
EVA Duration: 3 h 55 min
Mission Duration: 194 days 18:33:12
Number of orbits: ~3,036
Distance traveled: ~129,123,519 km
Mass: 187,016 kg
Expedition 8 crew picture

Expedition 8 crew portrait
L-R: Alexandr Kaleri (Russia) and Michael Foale (U.S.A.)

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Expedition 8 was the eighth expedition to the International Space Station.

Contents

[edit] Crew

(1) number of spaceflights each crew member has completed, including this mission.

[edit] Mission parameters



Foale and Kaleri conduct a teleconference with Moscow as part of the Russian New Year celebration.(NASA)
Foale and Kaleri conduct a teleconference with Moscow as part of the Russian New Year celebration.(NASA)


[edit] 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 undocked, Foale and Kaleri settled 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] EVA Cosmonauts and Astronauts and Suit ID

Michael Foale (EV1): blue stripes
Alexander Kaleri (EV2): red stripes

[edit] 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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