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Expedition 18

Long-duration mission to the International Space Station


Long-duration mission to the International Space Station

FieldValue
nameExpedition 18
imageExpedition 18 crew poster.jpg
image_captionPromotional poster
insigniaISS Expedition 18 Patch.svg
insignia_captionExpedition 18 mission patch
mission_typeLong-duration expedition
crew_size3
crew_membersMichael Fincke
Yuri Lonchakov
Gregory Chamitoff* (October–November)
Sandra Magnus (November–March)
Koichi Wakata† (March–April)
* – transferred from Expedition 17
† – transferred to Expedition 19
crew_EVAs2
crew_EVA_duration10 hours, 27 minutes
crew_photoExpedition 18 crew portrait.jpg
crew_photo_caption(Left to right) Koichi Wakata, Michael Fincke, Sandra Magnus, Yuri Lonchakov, Gregory Chamitoff
space_stationInternational Space Station
start_date
end_date
arrival_craftSoyuz TMA-13
Chamitoff: STS-124
Magnus: STS-126
Wakata: STS-119
departure_craftSoyuz TMA-13
Chamitoff: STS-126
Magnus: STS-119
Wakata: STS-127
previous_missionExpedition 17
next_missionExpedition 19
programmeISS expeditions

Yuri Lonchakov Gregory Chamitoff* (October–November) Sandra Magnus (November–March) Koichi Wakata† (March–April)

  • – transferred from Expedition 17 † – transferred to Expedition 19

Chamitoff: STS-124

Magnus: STS-126

Wakata: STS-119

Chamitoff: STS-126

Magnus: STS-119

Wakata: STS-127

Expedition 18 was the 18th permanent crew of the International Space Station (ISS). The first two crew members, Michael Fincke, and Yuri Lonchakov were launched on 12 October 2008, aboard Soyuz TMA-13. With them was astronaut Sandra Magnus, who joined the Expedition 18 crew after launching on STS-126 and remained until departing on STS-119 on 25 March 2009. She was replaced by JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata, who arrived at the ISS on STS-119 on 17 March 2009. Gregory Chamitoff, who joined Expedition 18 after Expedition 17 left the station, ended his stay aboard ISS and returned to Earth with the STS-126 crew.

Crew

url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/feb/HQ_0739_Three_ISS_Crews.htmltitle=NASA Announces Three International Space Station Crewsaccess-date=3 November 2007publisher=NASAyear=2007author=NASAarchive-date=26 May 2012archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526234647/http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/feb/HQ_0739_Three_ISS_Crews.htmlurl-status=dead}}First part
(October 2008 to November 2008)Second part
(November 2008 to March 2009)Third part
(March 2009 to April 2009)CommanderFlight Engineer 1Flight Engineer 2
USA Michael Fincke, NASA
Second spaceflight
RUS Yuri Lonchakov, RSA
Third and last spaceflight
USA Gregory Chamitoff, NASA
First SpaceflightUSA Sandra Magnus, NASA
Second spaceflightJPN Koichi Wakata, JAXA
Third spaceflight

Crew notes

Salizhan Sharipov was originally slated to be the Soyuz commander and Expedition 18 Flight Engineer 1, but was replaced by his back-up, Yuri Lonchakov.

Backup crew

  • Gennady Padalka – Commander – RSA (for Lonchakov)
  • Michael Barratt – Flight Engineer – NASA (for Fincke)
  • Timothy Kopra – Flight Engineer – NASA (for Chamitoff)
  • Nicole Stott – Flight Engineer – NASA (for Magnus)
  • Soichi Noguchi – Flight Engineer – JAXA (for Wakata)

Mission plan

  • Launch vehicle: Soyuz TMA-13
  • Launch date: 12 October 2008 3:01 a.m. EDT
  • Docking: 14 October 2008
  • Spacewalks: 22 December 2008 (completed 23 December) and 10 March 2009
  • Landing: 8 April 2009

March 2009 debris incident

On 12 March 2009, a piece of debris from the upper stage of a Delta II rocket used to launch a GPS satellite in 1993, passed close to the ISS. The conjunction between the debris and the Space Station was not detected until it was too late to perform a collision avoidance manoeuvre. The crew prepared to evacuate the station by closing hatches between modules, and boarding the Soyuz spacecraft that was docked to provide emergency crew escape. The debris did not hit the station, instead it passed by at 16:38 UTC, and the crew were cleared to resume operations about five minutes later.

Extra-vehicular activity

**Mission****Spacewalkers****Start (UTC)****End (UTC)****Duration**
EVA 1Yuri Lonchakov
Michael Fincke23 December 2008
00:5123 December 2008
06:295 hours, 38 minutes
Installed an electromagnetic energy measuring device, (Langmuir probe) on *Pirs*, removed the Russian Biorisk long-duration experiment, installed the Expose-R experiment package on *Zvezda*, but subsequently removed it after it failed to activate and transmit telemetry on ground command. Installed the Impulse experiment. EVA conducted from *Pirs* airlock in Russian Orlan space suits.
EVA 2Yuri Lonchakov
Michael Fincke10 March 2009
16:2210 March 2009
21:114 hours, 49 minutes
Installed the EXPOSE-R onto the universal science platform of the *Zvezda* module, removed tape straps from the area of the docking target on the *Pirs* airlock and docking compartment, inspected and photographed the exterior of the Russian portion of the station. EVA conducted from *Pirs* airlock in Russian Orlan space suits.

References

References

  1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2008). "Expedition 18 Launch Preparations". [[NASA]].
  2. NASA. (2007). "NASA Announces Three International Space Station Crews". NASA.
  3. Bergin, Chris. (12 March 2009). "RED threshold late notice conjunction threat misses ISS – Crew egress Soyuz". NASASpaceflight.com.
  4. NASA. (2008). "ISS On-Orbit Status 12/23/08". NASA.
  5. (2008). "US, Russian space station crew conduct spacewalk". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  6. Brian Wagner. (10 March 2009). "Space Station Astronauts Complete Space Walk Ahead of Shuttle Launch". Voice of America.
  7. NASA}}{{dead link. (June 2021). "ISS On-Orbit Status 03/11/09". NASA.
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