15 April 2005 00:45 GMT. Landing Date: 2004-10-24 00:36:00 PM. Flight Time: 9.89 days. Alternate Name: ISS Eneide. Other Name: ISS-10S. Flight Up: Soyuz TMA-6. Flight Back: Soyuz TMA-5. Crew: Vittori. Program: ISS. Italian astronaut sent for a ten day European Space Agency mission aboard the ISS while the EO-10/EO-11 long duration crews handed duties over to each other. Eneide was an ESA mission sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Defence and by the Lazio Region, and supported by Finmeccanica and the Roman Chamber of Commerce (CCIAA) on the terms of the agreement between ESA and Roscosmos. In his eight days on board the International Space Station, ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori worked on a full programme of scientific experiments. About 40 hours was dedicated to experimental activities. Vittori also performed various educational activities for the purpose of stimulating interest in students. Most of the experiments were developed by Italian researchers and built by Italian industry and research institutions. The Eneide Mission also allowed the European Astronaut Corps to expand their experience of spaceflight and life in space, in preparation for the launch of the Columbus laboratory, which was to be the first European operating module on board the Space Station.
ISS EP-8 Chronology - 2005 Feb 4 - International Space Station Status Report #05-6
The Expedition 10 crew turned its attention to the Space Shuttle's return to flight this week, spending several days pre-packing International Space Station items destined for return to Earth aboard Discovery. Commander Leroy Chiao began the effort Feb. 1 and reported Friday that he has completed pre-packing all U.S. hardware identified for return, and that he and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov are working together to do the same for the appropriate Russian hardware. Chiao also completed an inventory of food supplies. Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and Science Officer John Phillips will be on board the Station when Discovery arrives in May, and will work with the STS-114 crew to stow the return items after supplies and equipment being delivered have been transferred. The Expedition 10 crew's pre-packing efforts will help ensure that the limited amount of transfer time available during Discovery's visit is used efficiently. Scientific research also highlighted the week, with Sharipov conducting three runs with the Russian Plasma-Crystal experiment, while Chiao worked with two student experiments. "Plazmennyi Kristall" is studying how plasma-dust crystals and fluids behave in microgravity when excited by radio waves. Sharipov set up the experiment, installing specimens and pumping the atmosphere out of its vacuum chamber so that telescience specialists on the ground could command its operations. Chiao installed the EarthKAM experiment on a bracket in one of the Station's windows for its final Expedition 10 session. Students at 160 middle schools around the world have snapped more than 900 Earth observation images by remote control so far. Chiao also worked with the Space Experiment Module-Satchel experiment, which contains 11 sample vials, one each from schools around the United States, that are exposed to microgravity for three to six months. This is the first flight of the satchel carrier, which was delivered to the Station by the Progress 16 resupply ship. Chiao also spent several hours working to restore the Space Integrated GPS/Inertial Navigation System (SIGI) to full functionality. The system, which supplies Global Positioning Satellite navigation information to a Station guidance and navigation computer, was working normally again after Chiao rotated out one of the Destiny Laboratory's systems racks to gain access and update the system's firmware programming. The crew will have the usual light-duty weekend with cleaning and exercise on tap. Chiao, who is the NASA ISS Science Officer, can also choose from various research activities for his optional Saturday Morning Science session.
- 2005 Apr 1 - International Space Station Status Report #05-17
Following their second spacewalk and nearing the end of a six-month flight, Expedition 10 crew members conducted science experiments, prepared for the arrival of their replacements and readied the Station for the first post-Columbia Shuttle mission. Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov also spent much of the latter part of the week stowing tools used during the spacewalk, cleaning and stowing their Russian Orlan spacesuits and reconfiguring the Pirs Docking Compartment airlock. The crew installed antennas that will be used by a new automated European supply craft and released a small Russian technology satellite during the 4-hour, 30-minute spacewalk. Chiao and Sharipov began preparing the Station for the first visit by a Space Shuttle mission since the Columbia accident. The Shuttle Discovery is targeted for launch on mission STS-114 in a planning window that begins May 15 and ends June 3. The crew began packing gear that will be returned on the Shuttle and they checked out cameras that the upcoming Station crew will use to photograph the Shuttle's heat shield. Chiao conducted some troubleshooting on one of those digital cameras that is experiencing intermittent card reading errors during downloads. Other cameras are available if needed. The crew also continued work with the Station's Elektron oxygen generation system. The system has operated intermittently over the past few weeks. Additional troubleshooting was conducted this week by Sharipov while Russian technicians continued to study repair options. Multiple alternate sources of oxygen are available and the Elektron problems have not significantly impacted activities. Chiao and Sharipov participated in a question and answer session with students at the Sheridan Middle School in New Haven, CT Thursday and an amateur radio session with the Science Discovery Center in Denton, Texas. Two of the Station's Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) continue to perform well, controlling the Station's orientation. A brief, unusual vibration was detected on one of them, CMG 3, just after the end of the spacewalk on Monday. Engineers are continuing to evaluate the indication. Two additional gyroscopes are not operating. One of them is planned to be repowered during a spacewalk on the upcoming Shuttle mission and another will be replaced at that time. Two gyroscopes are sufficient for control of the current Station, but additional gyroscopes will be needed as assembly resumes and the size of the complex increases. The next Station crew continued training this week at Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori, completed final exams and certification for launch. They will travel to the launch site, the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, this weekend and conduct a check of their Soyuz spacecraft on Monday. Vittori will spend eight days on the Station under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency. Krikalev and Phillips will spend six months aloft.
- 2005 Apr 8 - International Space Station Status Report #05-18
The current International Space Station crew began packing for home this week while the next Station crew completed a final review of plans before heading to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, to prepare for launch. On Monday Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov held a news conference with reporters at NASA centers and discussed Station systems, lessons learned from two-man crew operations on the Station and the return of the Space Shuttle to flight. Chiao and Sharipov performed some maintenance work this week as well, including re-pressurizing the Station atmosphere with oxygen from the Progress supply ship's tank. They discharged two carbon dioxide-removing lithium hydroxide canisters that were nearing their expiration dates while ground specialists monitored the Station's environment to gauge the efficiency of the Russian canisters for possible future use. Flight controllers and engineers are continuing to analyze several spikes in vibration and electrical current that have been noted in one of the Control Moment Gyroscopes. The two functional gyroscopes are operating well and continuing to control the Station's orientation. While the analysis continues, the Station is in an orientation that minimizes demands on the gyroscopes. Remaining in that orientation does not change other Station operations. The ongoing analysis focuses on attempts to correlate the events with activity aboard the Station. At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer John Phillips, along with European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Roberto Vittori, who will travel to the Station for eight days under a commercial agreement between Russia and ESA, spent the week reviewing flight plans. They will travel to Kazakhstan Saturday. Their launch on ISS Soyuz 10 is set for 7:46 p.m. CDT Thursday, April 14. They will dock at the Station's Pirs docking compartment at 9:19 p.m. CDT April 16. Vittori will join Chiao and Soyuz Commander Sharipov for the trip back to Earth, departing the Station and landing in Kazakhstan on April 24.
- 2005 Apr 14 - International Space Station Status Report #05-19
The 11th crew of the International Space Station rocketed into space tonight, beginning a six-month mission. The ISS Soyuz 10 spacecraft carried Station Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer and Flight Engineer John Phillips to orbit along with European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori. The Soyuz launched at 7:46 p.m. CDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. At the time, the Station was flying in a northeasterly direction about 230 miles above the South Atlantic Ocean. With Krikalev at the controls, the Soyuz is on course to catch up and dock with the Station at 9:19 p.m. Saturday, April 16. The hatches between the arriving Soyuz 10 spacecraft and the Station will be opened at about 12:05 a.m. Sunday. Live NASA Television coverage of the docking and hatch opening will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday. Krikalev and Phillips will stay aboard the Station until October, while Vittori will spend eight days there conducting experiments. The Station residents will open the door for the Space Shuttle Discovery's crew on their STS-114 mission to ISS in May or June. Expedition 10 Commander and NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov have been doing research and maintaining Station systems since October. With Vittori, they will undock from the Station and return to Earth April 24.
- 2005 Apr 16 - International Space Station Status Report #05-20
New residents arrived at the International Space Station tonight to begin a six-month mission and to prepare for the arrival of the first Space Shuttle crew to visit the complex since November 2002. With Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev at the controls, the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft automatically linked up to the Pirs Docking Compartment at 9:20 p.m. CDT as the Soyuz and the Station flew over eastern Asia. Within minutes, hooks and latches between the two vehicles joined together to form a tight seal. Aboard the Soyuz with Krikalev were NASA Expedition 11 Flight Engineer and Science Officer John Phillips and European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy. Hatches between the Soyuz and the Station were opened at 11:45 p.m. Saturday. The two crews greeted one another with handshakes and hugs. The first activity scheduled for the five crewmembers was a safety briefing to familiarize the newly arrived trio with emergency escape procedures. Krikalev and Phillips will remain on board the Station until October. Vittori will return to Earth next week after eight days of scientific experiments on the complex under a commercial agreement between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency. The trio launched at dawn Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for their two-day journey to the outpost. Aboard the Station at the time of docking were Expedition 10 Commander and NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov, who are wrapping up their six-month mission and who will ride home on their Soyuz TMA-5 capsule with Vittori on April 25 for a pre-dawn landing in central Kazakhstan. Saturday marked the 185th day in space for Chiao and Sharipov and their 183rd day on the Station. Krikalev and Phillips will relocate the new Soyuz from Pirs to the Zarya module docking port this summer. On hand for the docking activities at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow were NASA Deputy Administrator Fred Gregory, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Station and Space Shuttle Programs Michael Kostelnik, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Craig Steidle and ISS Program Manager William Gerstenmaier along with Russian and European space officials. On Sunday before they begin an extended sleep period, the new crew will transfer their custom-made Soyuz seatliners as well as cargo carried aloft on the Soyuz for the complex. Later in the day, initial briefings on the handover from the current residents to their replacements will be conducted and the new Soyuz' systems will be deactivated. Over the next week, Krikalev and Phillips will familiarize themselves with Station systems and stowed equipment, conduct robotics training with the Canadarm2 robot arm, and receive detailed briefings on scientific payloads. Phillips and Chiao will also continue the maintenance and repair work on the cooling systems in the U.S. airlock Quest for the resumption of spacewalk capability from the Station this summer. In addition, they will pack discarded gear and equipment for return to Earth on the Raffaello cargo module that will be brought to the Station on the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight mission, STS-114, targeted to arrive next month on the Shuttle Discovery.
- 2005 Apr 22 - International Space Station Status Report #05-21
Aboard the International Space Station this week, one crew counted down its final days in space, headed toward a return to Earth on Sunday, while another crew began a six-month journey in orbit. The five crewmembers aboard the Station had a busy week of briefings for the new crew, preparations for the old crew's departure and preparations for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-114, the Shuttle's Return to Flight targeted for next month. The 11th Station crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA ISS Science Officer John Phillips, docked to the Station at 9:20 p.m. CDT Saturday. With them was European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy. He is spending almost eight days on the Station working through 22 scientific experiments and activities. Vittori is to return to Earth on Sunday with the two members of the Expedition 10 crew, Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov. They are scheduled to leave the Station at 1:41 p.m. CDT Sunday and to land in Kazakhstan at 5:08 p.m. Chiao and Sharipov will then travel to Kustanai, Kazakhstan, and on to Star City, Russia, about eight hours after their return to Earth, where they will be reunited with family. The landing is about two hours before local sunrise. The area weather forecast calls for a chance of rain with near-freezing temperatures. Sharipov will undock the Soyuz manually as a precautionary measure to conserve energy. Although the Soyuz' backup battery charge is thought to be adequate if it were required for the undocking, that battery has shown signs of a reduced charge since the Soyuz was relocated among Station docking ports in November 2004. The primary battery is healthy. The manual undocking is a practiced backup procedure for Soyuz operations, and is being done to ensure adequate backup battery power is available if it were needed for deorbit and landing. The manual procedures allow Sharipov to reduce the amount of time the Soyuz is on internal power before undocking. The undocking is routinely performed automatically by the onboard computer. Landing will occur as is normal on the second orbit after undocking. Extensive briefings by Chiao and Sharipov helped settle Krikalev, who was a member of the first station crew launched in late 2000, and Phillips, who visited the Station as a Shuttle crewmember in April 2001, in their new home. They also trained on the Canadarm2, the Station's robotic arm, and were briefed on science activities as well as locations of equipment and supplies. On Monday, Phillips trained with the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity experiment. He conducted his first experiment with the equipment on Thursday. Tuesday the crew activated the Microgravity Science Glovebox and later in the week certified its readiness for use. Wednesday's focus was the U.S. airlock Quest, with crewmembers flushing a cooling system and replacing a service and cooling umbilical, restoring the airlock to usable condition. Chiao and Phillips were back in the airlock on Thursday, resizing spacesuits to make sure the right equipment will remain aboard the Station after Discovery's departure from its future mission. A three-hour Soyuz descent training session kept Chiao, Sharipov and Vittori busy on Friday. All five crewmembers later participated in a change of command ceremony that formally passed command of the outpost from Chiao to Krikalev.
- 2005 Apr 24 - International Space Station Status Report #05-22
After traveling more than 78 million miles aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 10 Commander and NASA ISS Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov returned to Earth today. With them was European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori, who had spent eight days aboard the orbiting complex doing research. After a flawless descent by the ISS Soyuz 9 spacecraft, Chiao, Sharipov and Vittori landed on target in north-central Kazakhstan, about 53 miles (85 kilometers) northeast of Arkalyk, at 5:08 p.m. CDT. Recovery forces arrived at the site within minutes of the touchdown. The area was saturated from recent rains and melting winter snow, so the first members of the recovery team to reach the scene decided to fly the crew to Arkalyk to meet with remaining members of the recovery team. The crew's friends and families are expected to greet them upon their arrival at Star City, Russia, about eight hours after landing. Chiao and Sharipov will remain in Star City for a few weeks of post-flight debriefings and medical exams before returning to Houston in mid-May. Chiao and Sharipov spent 192 days, 19 hours and 2 minutes in space. They launched on Oct. 13, on the same Soyuz spacecraft that brought them home. For six months, the pair maintained systems and conducted scientific research onboard the Station. Among their accomplishments on the Station was replacing critical hardware in the Joint Quest Airlock, repairing U.S. spacesuits, submitting a scientific research paper on ultrasound use in space and voting for the first time in an American Presidential election from space. They completed two spacewalks, including experiment installation and tasks that prepared the Station for the arrival of a new European cargo ship next year. Aboard the Station, the Expedition 11 crew, Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Station Science Officer John Phillips, are beginning a six-month mission that will include the resumption of Space Shuttle flights and two spacewalks from the Station. Expedition 11 is scheduled to return to Earth on Oct. 7, 2005. Krikalev and Phillips will have light duty for the next three days as they rest after completing a busy handover period. For the past week, they have been learning about Station operations from the two men who called the ship home since October. Chiao and Sharipov briefed Krikalev and Phillips on day-to-day operations and gave them hands-on opportunities at Station maintenance: Chiao and Phillips restored functionality of the Quest for future spacewalks and practiced operating the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
- 2005 Apr 24 - Landing of Soyuz TMA-5
The EO-10 crew, having handed over the ISS to EO-11, boarded Soyuz TMA-5 together with EP-8 astronaut Vittori. They undocked from the ISS Zarya module at 18:45 GMT, made retrofire on schedule at 21:17, and landed on muddy ground at 51 deg 03" N / 67 deg 18" E at 22:07
- 2005 Apr 29 - International Space Station Status Report #05-23
The new crew members of the International Space Station completed their first full work week today as they conducted routine maintenance, continued to settle in and practiced photography to be used when the Space Shuttle returns to flight. Commander Sergei Krikalev and Flight Engineer and NASA Science Officer John Phillips were given time each day to orient themselves with the Station and where items are stowed. They also completed an emergency evacuation drill, a standard procedure for all new crews. The practice helps them learn the location of emergency equipment and departure routes. Both crewmembers kept busy with Station maintenance and upkeep. Krikalev conducted troubleshooting of the Russian Elektron oxygen generation system and the condensate removal system. The Elektron remains off-line, with oxygen being supplied from tanks in the Progress cargo ship, one of several oxygen supplies available. The next infusion of oxygen into the Station's atmosphere from Progress will take place early next week. Krikalev also completed the transfer of water from the Progress cargo ship to storage tanks in the Zvezda module. Phillips updated the Station's computer system with software specifically designed for this crew's mission. He also installed a remote-controlled camera at the Destiny Lab's Earth-facing window for a week's worth of imagery from the EarthKAM experiment, which enables middle-school students around the world to take photos of selected sites on Earth. Thousands of students from more than 100 schools took part in this week's operations. Early today Krikalev and Phillips were informed that NASA managers rescheduled the launch of the Shuttle Discovery to no earlier than July 13 on the STS-114 Return to Flight mission. The additional time is needed to complete a thorough analysis of the potential risks posed by several areas of possible ice debris from the Shuttle's external fuel tank as well as an evaluation of several concerns found during recent launch preparations. Today the crewmembers practiced with digital cameras the photographs they will take of Discovery as it approaches the Station for docking on the third day of the STS-114 mission. Phillips and Krikalev will have about 93 seconds of time available to use the cameras and high-power lenses to capture two sets of images of the Shuttle's heat shield. Discovery Commander Eileen Collins will guide the Shuttle through a slow back flip to allow the Station crew to image both the top and bottom of the vehicle. The images will be quickly transmitted to the ground for analysis. Krikalev and Phillips performed another step in preparations for the Shuttle visit this week as they cleared cargo from a hatch in the Unity module where a cargo container will be attached during that mission. The Station crew also conferred via space to ground communications with Discovery's crew about the planned transfer and stowing of supplies. Meanwhile, Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov, along with European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy, arrived at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia Monday morning. They rested, reunited with their families and went through medical tests following their landing in a Soyuz spacecraft. Chiao and Sharipov are expected to return to Houston in mid-May.
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