Expedition 27 was the 27th long-duration expedition to the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
(ISS), starting on 16 March 2011. Expedition 27 saw numerous notable events, including the undocking of the
Progress M-09M and
Kounotori 2
Kounotori 2 (こうのとり2号機, "white stork" ), also known as HTV-2, was launched in January 2011 and was the second flight of the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). It was launched by the ...
spacecraft, the arrival of the
Soyuz TMA-21 and
Progress M-10M spacecraft, and the final rendezvous with the ISS of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
's
Space Shuttle ''Endeavour, on its last mission,
STS-134
STS-134 ( ISS assembly flight ULF6) was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the Internationa ...
. The expedition ended on 23 May 2011 with the departure of the
Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft, although command of the station was ceremonially handed over to the crew of
Expedition 28
Expedition 28 was the 28th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station, and began on 23 May 2011 with the departure of the members of Expedition 27. The first three members of Expedition 28 arrived on the ISS aboard the Soyuz TM ...
on 22 May.
Crew
;Source: NASA
Mission highlights
Kounotori 2 undocking
After an extended two-month stay,
Kounotori 2
Kounotori 2 (こうのとり2号機, "white stork" ), also known as HTV-2, was launched in January 2011 and was the second flight of the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). It was launched by the ...
was detached from the nadir docking port of the
''Harmony'' module by the
Canadarm 2
The Mobile Servicing System (MSS), is a robotic system on board the International Space Station (ISS). Launched to the ISS in 2001, it plays a key role in station assembly and maintenance; it moves equipment and supplies around the station, supp ...
robotic arm at 15:29 UTC on 28 March 2011, and released at 15:46 UTC. Launched in January 2011 to resupply the ISS, Kounotori 2 (also known as HTV-2) was the second Japanese
H-II Transfer Vehicle. It reentered Earth's atmosphere at around 03:09 UTC on 30 March.
Soyuz TMA-21 docking
The
Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft launched from
Baikonur Cosmodrome on 4 April 2011, carrying Expedition 27 crew members Aleksandr Samokutyayev, Andrei Borisenko and Ronald Garan. It docked with the space station on 6 April at 23:09 UTC. The docking to the
''Poisk'' module occurred as the two spacecraft were orbiting over the
Andes Mountains in Chile. The hatches between Soyuz TMA-21 and the ISS were opened at 2:13 UTC on 7 April. The three Soyuz crew members were welcomed aboard for a crew greeting ceremony and a mandatory safety orientation by Expedition 27 Commander Dmitri Kondratyev and Flight Engineers Catherine Coleman and Paolo Nespoli.
50th anniversary of first spaceflight
On 12 April 2011, the Expedition 27 crew recorded a special video message aboard the ISS in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight, which was conducted by
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
cosmonaut
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. T ...
in 1961. The crew recorded their greeting in Russian, English, and Italian while wearing black Gagarin T-shirts.
Progress M-09M undocking
The
Progress M-09M cargo spacecraft was undocked from the station's
''Pirs'' module at 11:41 UTC on 22 April 2011. After departing the space station, the spacecraft was used for the Radar-Progress scientific experiment to investigate a reflection feature of the
plasma generated by operations of the Progress propulsion system. Upon the completion of this experiment, the spacecraft was deorbited, and reentered over the "
spacecraft cemetery" in the South Pacific Ocean.
Progress M-09M had been launched on a resupply mission to the ISS on 28 January 2011. It carried 2,666 kilograms (5,880 lb) of cargo to the space station, consisting of 1,444 kilograms (3,180 lb) of dry cargo, 752 kilograms (1,660 lb) of propellant, 50 kilograms (110 lb) of
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...
and 420 kilograms (930 lb) of water.
Progress M-10M docking
Flying two days autonomously after liftoff from the Baikonour Cosmodrome, the
Progress M-10M cargo spacecraft arrived at the ISS on 29 April 2011, successfully docking at 14:19 UTC to the nadir port of the ''
Pirs'' module, which had been vacated by Progress M-09M. The docking occurred as the two spacecraft were traveling 220 miles (354 kilometers) over western
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
. The linkup happened just over five hours before NASA's first launch attempt of the
Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' on the
STS-134
STS-134 ( ISS assembly flight ULF6) was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the Internationa ...
mission. The shuttle launch was scrubbed because of the failure of two heaters on one of ''Endeavours auxiliary power units. ''Endeavour'' finally launched successfully on 16 May 2011.
STS-134
STS-134
STS-134 ( ISS assembly flight ULF6) was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the Internationa ...
, the second-to-the-last mission of the
Space Shuttle program
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. I ...
, was launched from
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
on 16 May 2011 at 12:56 UTC.
Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' docked to the ISS on 18 May at 10:14 UTC, and delivered the
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2 (AMS-2) and an
Express Logistics Carrier
An EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (ExPRESS) Logistics Carrier (ELC) is an unpressurized attached payload platform for the International Space Station (ISS) that provides mechanical mounting surfaces, electrical power, and ...
to the station, completing the assembly of the
US Orbital Segment
The US Orbital Segment (USOS) is the name given to the components of the International Space Station (ISS) constructed and operated by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), Canadi ...
of the ISS. On 22 May, while ''Endeavour'' was docked, the members of Expedition 27 formally handed over command of the station to the members of
Expedition 28
Expedition 28 was the 28th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station, and began on 23 May 2011 with the departure of the members of Expedition 27. The first three members of Expedition 28 arrived on the ISS aboard the Soyuz TM ...
. The following day, on 23 May, the
Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft departed from the ISS, returning Expedition 27 crew members Paolo Nespoli, Catherine Coleman and Dmitri Kondratyev to Earth. Soyuz TMA-20 landed safely in central
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
at 02:27 UTC on 24 May 2011, having taken photographs of the shuttle docked at the ISS prior to re-entry.
[http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/05/soyuz-tma-20-historic-photographic-event-landing/ NASA Spaceflight.com, 23 May 2011]
Gallery
Image:Expedition 27 Waves Farewell.jpg, Borisenko, Garan, and Samokutyaev wave farewell from the bottom of the Soyuz rocket prior to their launch.
Image:Expedition 27 Prepares to Launch.jpg, The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft on its launchpad.
Image:Expedition 27 Kondratyev Nespoli & Coleman Origami HTV2.jpg, In honour of those affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six mi ...
in Japan, Kondratyev (center), Nespoli & Coleman are pictured with origami
) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a f ...
cranes, which they folded to be placed in the HTV-2.
Image:ISS-27 crew in the Zvezda Service Module in honor of Yuri Gagarin.jpg, Expedition 27 crew members pose for a photo near the galley in the ''Zvezda'' Service Module of the ISS in honor of the 50th anniversary of the spaceflight
Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in o ...
of Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. T ...
, the first human launched in space, on 12 April 1961.
Image:Endeavour docked to ISS.jpg, Photo of the ISS
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (J ...
and ''Endeavour'' taken from Soyuz TMA-20.
Image:ISS and Endeavour seen from the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft 07.jpg, Photo of the ISS and ''Endeavour'' taken from Soyuz TMA-20.
Image:ISS and Endeavour seen from the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft 11.jpg, Photo of the ISS and ''Endeavour'' taken from Soyuz TMA-20.
Image:ISS and Endeavour seen from the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft 29.jpg, Photo of the ISS and ''Endeavour'' taken from Soyuz TMA-20.
Image:Iss027e036656-commented-20110608.svg, A photo of the ISS and ''Endeavour'' as seen from Soyuz TMA-20, with all components tagged.
Image:STS-134_International_Space_Station_after_undocking.jpg, ISS, taken by a crew member on ''Endeavour'' after undocking.
File:Soyuz TMA-20 landing.ogv, Video of Soyuz TMA-20 landing.
Image:Soyuz TMA-20 landing.jpg, Soyuz TMA-20 lands.
References
External links
NASA's Space Station Expeditions pageExpedition 27 Mission Overview (video)Additional photos of Expedition 27 and STS-134 from Wikimedia Commons
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2012
Expeditions to the International Space Station
2011 in spaceflight
Articles containing video clips