Expedition 23 (russian: МКС-23) was the 23rd long-duration mission 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). Expedition 23 began with the Soyuz TMA-16 undocking on 18 March 2010. Shortly thereafter cosmonauts Aleksandr Skvortsov and Mikhail Korniyenko and astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson arrived at the Space Station on Soyuz TMA-18 on 4 April 2010. The Soyuz spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 00:04 EST on 2 April 2010.

Crew

;Source: NASA

Backup crew

Douglas H. Wheelock Douglas Harry "Wheels" Wheelock (born May 5, 1960) is an American engineer and astronaut. He has flown in space twice, logging 178 days on the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and Russian Soyuz. On July 12, 2011, Wheelock announced ...

- Commander *

Anton Shkaplerov Anton Nikolaevich Shkaplerov (russian: Антон Николаевич Шкаплеров; born 20 February 1972) is a Russian cosmonaut. He is a veteran of four spaceflights. Personal life Shkaplerov is married to Tatyana Petrovna, and they ...

Satoshi Furukawa is a Japanese surgeon and JAXA astronaut. Furukawa was assigned to the International Space Station as a flight engineer on long-duration missions Expedition 28/ 29, lifting off 7 June 2011 and returning 22 November 2011. Medical career Furakawa ...

Mikhail Tyurin Mikhail Vladislavovich Tyurin (russian: Михаил Владиславович Тюрин; born March 2, 1960) is a former Russian cosmonaut who flew several missions to the International Space Station and completed four spacewalks during his ca ...

Aleksandr Samokutyayev Aleksandr Mikhailovich Samokutyaev (russian: Александр Михайлович Самокутяев; born 13 March 1970 in Penza, Russian SFSR, USSR) is a Russian politician and former cosmonaut. Samokutyaev served as a Flight Engineer for ...

* Scott J. Kelly

Mission overview

Three Russian cosmonauts, two American and one Japanese astronauts made up the Expedition 23 crew. It was the first ISS crew to include three Russians at once. The Expedition 23 crew continued outfitting the newest modules of the nearly completed space station. The crew welcomed the shuttle flight

STS-131 STS-131 ( ISS assembly flight 19A) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). launched on 5 April 2010 at 6:21 am from LC-39A, and landed at 9:08 am on 20 April 2010 on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space C ...

in April 2010. The Expedition 23 crew also saw the arrival of the Rasvet Russian docking module (MRM1) aboard on

STS-132 STS-132 ( ISS assembly flight ULF4) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission, during which Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' docked with the International Space Station on 16 May 2010. STS-132 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 14 May 2010. The prima ...

, which launched on 14 May 2010. STS-131 ISS-23 Four Women

Gallery

Image:Expedition23 fit check dress rehearsal.jpg, Caldwell Dyson, Skvortsov and Korniyenko in front of their Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft. Image:Expedition23 Crew Launch.jpg, Skvortsov, Caldwell Dyson and Korniyenko wave farewell from the bottom of the Soyuz rocket. Image:Soyuz TMA-18 launching.jpg, Soyuz TMA-18 launch from the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...

. File:STS-131 ISS Expedition 23 in-flight crew portrait.jpg, Expedition 23 crew members in the Destiny laboratory. Image:STS-131 & Expedition 23 Group Portrait.jpg,

& Expedition 23 group portrait. Image:Expedition 23 Landing.jpg, Expedition 23 lands.

References

External links

NASA's Space Station Expeditions page
{{ISS expeditions Expeditions to the International Space Station 2010 in spaceflight