Expedition 27
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Long-duration mission to the International Space Station}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name = Expedition 27
| image = Expedition 27 crew poster.jpg
| image_caption = Promotional Poster
| insignia = ISS Expedition 27 Patch.png
| insignia_caption = Expedition 27 mission patch
| mission_type = Long-duration expedition
| mission_duration =
| orbits_completed =
| crew_size = 6
| crew_members = Expedition 26/27:
Dmitri Kondratyev
Catherine Coleman
Paolo Nespoli
Expedition 27/28:
Andrei Borisenko
Aleksandr Samokutyayev
Ron Garan
| crew_EVAs =
| crew_EVA_duration =
| crew_photo = Expedition 27 crew portrait.jpg
| crew_photo_caption = (l-r) Garan, Nespoli, Samokutyayev, Coleman, Borisenko and Kondratyev
| space_station = International Space Station
| start_date = {{start-date|16 March 2011, 04:27|timezone=yes}} UTC
| end_date = {{end-date|23 May 2011, 21:35|timezone=yes}} UTC
| arrival_craft = Soyuz TMA-20
Soyuz TMA-21
| departure_craft = Soyuz TMA-20
Soyuz TMA-21
| previous_mission = Expedition 26
| next_mission = Expedition 28
| programme = ISS expeditions
}}
Expedition 27 was the 27th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS), starting on 16 March 2011. Expedition 27 saw numerous notable events, including the undocking of the Progress M-09M and Kounotori 2 spacecraft, the arrival of the Soyuz TMA-21 and Progress M-10M spacecraft, and the final rendezvous with the ISS of NASA's Space Shuttle ''Endeavour, on its last mission, STS-134. 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 on 22 May.
Crew
| class="wikitable" |
| Position
!First part !Second part |
|---|
| Commander
|colspan=2 align=center| {{flagicon|RUS}} Dmitri Kondratyev, RSA |
| Flight Engineer 1
|colspan=2 align=center| {{flagicon|USA}} Catherine Coleman, NASA |
| Flight Engineer 2
|colspan=2 align=center| {{flagicon|ITA}} Paolo Nespoli, ESA |
| Flight Engineer 3
| |colspan=1 align=center| {{flagicon|RUS}} Andrei Borisenko, RSA |
| Flight Engineer 4
| |colspan=1 align=center| {{flagicon|RUS}} Aleksandr Samokutyayev, RSA |
| Flight Engineer 5
| |colspan=1 align=center| {{flagicon|USA}} Ron Garan, NASA |
;Source: NASA{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/nov/HQ_08-306_Expedition_crews.html|title=NASA Assigns Space Station Crews, Updates Expedition Numbering|publisher=NASA|year=2008|author=NASA HQ|access-date=21 November 2008|archive-date=17 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417221108/http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/nov/HQ_08-306_Expedition_crews.html|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/oct/HQ_09-233_Space_Station_Crews.html|title= NASA and its International Partners Assign Space Station Crews|publisher=NASA|year=2009|author=NASA HQ}}
Mission highlights
= Kounotori 2 undocking =
After an extended two-month stay, Kounotori 2 was detached from the nadir docking port of the Harmony module by the Canadarm 2 robotic arm at 15:29 UTC on 28 March 2011, and released at 15:46 UTC.{{cite web |url=http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/htv/mission/htv-2/news/htv2_release.html |title=KOUNOTORI2 (HTV2) Leaves the ISS |publisher=JAXA |date=29 March 2011 }} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2011/03/20110330_kounotori2_e.html |title=Successful Re-entry of HTV2 |publisher=JAXA |date=30 March 2011 |access-date=1 May 2011 |archive-date=4 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204054424/http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2011/03/20110330_kounotori2_e.html |url-status=dead }}
= 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.{{cite news|title=Soyuz TMA-21 docks with space station (UPDATED)|date=6 April 2011|author=William Harwood|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/home/spacenews/files/23cc83afbf3610669956c473752fe6c0-210.html
|publisher=CBS News}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/index.html|title=New Expedition 27 Trio Docks to Station|publisher=NASA|date=6 April 2011|access-date=1 May 2011|archive-date=2 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602184650/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/index.html|url-status=dead}} 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 crewed spaceflight, which was conducted by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=36812|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911162951/http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=36812|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 September 2012|title=NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 22 April 2011|author=NASA|publisher=SpaceRef|date=23 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.roscosmos.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=11704|title=Progress M-09M Departed from the ISS|publisher=Russian Federal Space Agency|date=22 April 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315121750/http://www.roscosmos.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=11704|archive-date=15 March 2012}} 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 {{convert|2666|kg|lb|abbr=off}} of cargo to the space station, consisting of {{convert|1444|kg|lb|abbr=off}} of dry cargo, {{convert|752|kg|lb|abbr=off}} of propellant, {{convert|50|kg|lb|abbr=off}} of oxygen and {{convert|420|kg|lb|abbr=off}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.space.com/11522-shuttle-launch-space-station-cargo-ship-docking.html|title=Russian Cargo Ship Docks at Space Station Ahead of Shuttle Launch|author=SPACE.com Staff|publisher=SPACE.com|date=29 April 2011}} The docking occurred as the two spacecraft were traveling {{convert|220|mi|km|abbr=off|sp=us}} over western Mongolia. The linkup happened just over five hours before NASA's first launch attempt of the Space Shuttle Endeavour on the STS-134 mission. The shuttle launch was scrubbed because of the failure of two heaters on one of Endeavour's auxiliary power units. Endeavour finally launched successfully on 16 May 2011.
=STS-134=
STS-134, the second-to-the-last mission of the Space Shuttle program, was launched from Kennedy Space Center 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 to the station, completing the assembly of the US Orbital Segment 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. 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 at 02:27 UTC on 24 May 2011,[http://space.flatoday.net/2011/05/soyuz-crew-safely-home.html Florida Today.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830174133/http://space.flatoday.net/2011/05/soyuz-crew-safely-home.html |date=30 August 2011 }}, 23 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 in Japan, Kondratyev (center), Nespoli & Coleman are pictured with origami 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 of Yuri Gagarin, the first human launched in space, on 12 April 1961.
Image:Endeavour docked to ISS.jpg|Photo of the ISS 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
{{Include-NASA}}
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|ISS Expedition 27}}
- [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/index.html NASA's Space Station Expeditions page]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100808041921/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-27/ndxpage1.html Expedition 27 Photography]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH-bFLyyrZM Expedition 27 Mission Overview (video)]
- [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:STS-134 Additional photos of Expedition 27 and STS-134 from Wikimedia Commons]
{{ISS expeditions}}