Orbital Focus - International Spaceflight Facts and Figures
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International Space Station


Tyneside, UK
2024 Mar 29
Friday, Day 89

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Expedition 2

This section of the diary covers the period from 2001 March - August. Yuri Usachev, James Voss and Susan Helms take over from the Expedition 1 crew

Date Time (UTC) Event
2001 Mar 8 11:42 Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-102 into orbit of 159 x 235 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination with crew consisting of Capt James D Wetherbee, USN (commander), Lt-Col James M Kelly, USAF (pilot), and mission specialists Andy Thomas and Paul Richards - as passengers, Discovery carries the ISS Expedition 2 crew consisting of Yuri Usachev (station commander), Col James S Voss, USA (ret'd) and Col Susan Helms, USAF
2001 Mar 8 16:00 Discovery orbit is 233 x 273 kilometres
2001 Mar 10 05:34 Originally planned time for docking of Discovery with the ISS - it is delayed by difficulty with one of the main solar panels which were turned edge-on to Discovery on its approach to minimise contamination from exhaust plumes - it will not latch in place as planned so the panel is rotated slightly in order that an alternative latch can be used
2001 Mar 10 06:38 Discovery docks with PMA-2 on the forward-facing end of the Destiny module while over the southern Pacific Ocean near New Zealand - orbit is 371 x 381 kilometres
2001 Mar 11 Yuri Usachev contoured seat is fitted inside Soyuz TM-31 and he exchanges places aboard the ISS with yuri Gidzenko - he begins the handover routines with Bill Shepherd as relieving commander
2001 Mar 11 05:12 Helms and Voss begin a space walk to prepare for removing PMA-3 in order that the Leonardo module may be attached to Destiny - they also move a cradle assembly from Discovery cargo bay to the outside of Destiny which will be used later to mount the Station own RMS, and fit a cable tray to the outside of Destiny - they spend the last hour of the spacewalk waiting inside the airlock while the PMA-3 adaptor is moved
2001 Mar 11 14:08 Helms and Voss complete their space walk after 8 hrs 56 minutes - the longest space walk in Shuttle history
2001 Mar 12 03:37 Thomas attaches the RMS to Italian built Leonardo logistics module in Discovery cargo bay
2001 Mar 12 04:10 Using the RMS, Thomas lifts Leonardo from Discovery cargo bay
2001 Mar 12 06:02 Leonardo is firmly connected to Unity downward-facing Common Berthing Mechanism
2001 Mar 12 James Voss contoured seat is fitted inside Soyuz TM-31 and he exchanges places aboard the ISS with Sergei Krikalyov
2001 Mar 13 The ISS crew begins moving the five tonnes of equipment racks from inside Leonardo for re-fitting into the Destiny laboratory module
2001 Mar 13 05:23 Richards and Thomas start a space walk to add various items of equipment to the outside of the ISS including power cables for the upcoming RMS - they also move to the top of the tower on the Z-1 Truss in order to activate a latch on one of the solar panels
2001 Mar 13 11:44 Richards and Thomas complete their space walk after 6 hrs 21 mins - they then remain inside the airlock while it is depressurised for a short period as part of a Shuttle systems test
2001 Mar 14 06:00 Susan Helms' contoured seat is fitted inside Soyuz TM-31 and she exchanges places with Bill Shepherd - the crew exchange is complete but Shepherd remains commander of the ISS for the time being
2001 Mar 15 Discovery manoeuvring engines are fired repeatedly over a period of fifty minutes in order to raise the ISS orbit to 372 x 389 kilometres - this re-boost is 24 hours earlier than planned due to a need to move the ISS away from the orbit taken up by a 5 kg foot restraint which floated out of the cargo bay during the space walk 2000 March 11
2001 Mar 18 Compitations show that, through atmospheric drag, Mir's orbit will have reached a low-enough altitude for de-orbiting 2001 Mar 23
2001 Mar 18 10:40 Using the RMS, Thomas detaches Leonardo from Unity - the event has been delayed four hours due to the crew having to check for air leaks around Unity hatch
2001 Mar 18 12:08 Leonardo is locked down in Discovery cargo bay
2001 Mar 19 02:32 The hatches between Discovery and the ISS are closed - Yuri Usachev, Expedition 2 commander is now in charge of the ISS
2001 Mar 19 04:32 Discovery undocks from the International Space Station and conducts a fly-around inspection before moving away - Yuri Usachev, Expedition 2 commander is now in charge of the ISS
2001 Mar 21 06:26 Discovery fires its OMS engines to initiate re-entry
2001 Mar 21 07:31 Discovery lands on the Edward Air Force Base Runway
2001 Mar 21 07:32 Wheel stop - Discovery mission is over and the ISS crew exchange between Expedition 1 and Expedition 2 has been completed
2001 Mar 23 06:04 Fragments of Mir - possibly as much as 25 tonnes of debris - impact in the southern Pacific Ocean
2001 Apr 4 The thrusters of Progress M-4 are fired briefly under control of Zvezda computers as a test
2001 Apr 10 16:05 Atlantis docks with the PMA-2 Adaptor at the forward-facing end of Destiny - orbit is 384 x 388 kilometres
2001 Apr 10 18:07 The hatches between Atlantis and the International Space Station are opened
2001 Apr 16 08:48 Progress M1-4 undocks from Zarya and moves away from the ISS
2001 Apr 16 13:23 Progress M1-4 fires its rocket engine, re-enters the Earth atmosphere and burns up as a result of frictional heating
2001 Apr 18 12:40 Soyuz TM-31 undocks from the downward-facing port of Zvezda with the Shepherd, Gidzenko and Krikalyov aboard
2001 Apr 18 13:01 Soyuz TM-31 docks with the aft port on Zarya - this leaves clearance for the upcoming STS-100 crew to dock the Rafaello logistics module
2001 Apr 19 18:40 Space Shuttle Endeavour launched from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-100 into orbit of 200 x 317 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination with crew consisting of Capt Kent V Rominger, USN (commander), Capt Jeffrey S Ashby, USN (pilot), and mission specialists Col Chris Hadfield, Canadian Air Force, Dr John L Phillips, Dr Scott Parazynski, Dr Umbert Guidoni, ESA, and Lt-Col Yuri V Lonchakov, Russian Air Force - as passengers
2001 Apr 21 01:59 Endeavour docks with PMA-2 on the forward-facing end of the Destiny module - orbit is 371 x 381 kilometres
2001 Apr 22 11:45 Parazynski and Hadfield start a space walk to install a new UHF antenna on the outside of Destiny and to begin the transfer of the Canadarm-2 robotic arm from Endeavour to the ISS - after the arm is extended from its mounting point on Endeavour and clamped to a cradle on the outside of Destiny , they connect power and control cables to the ISS end of the arm
2001 Apr 22 18:53 On board the ISS , Voss and Helms conduct the first test of the Station new robotic arm by moving it slightly under remote control
2001 Apr 22 18:55 Parazynski and Hadfield complete their space walk after 7 hrs 10 min
2001 Apr 23 ISS orbit is 374 x 391 kilometres - a series of thruster firings by Endeavour over a one hour period raises it to 377 x 395 kilometres
2001 Apr 23 09:25 The hatches between Endeavour and Unity are opened and the visiting and residential crews meet for the first time
2001 Apr 23 11:13 One end of Canadarm-2 is moved from it pallet aboard Endeavour
2001 Apr 23 14:16 The free end of Canadarm-2 is attached to a power and data hookup point on Unity
2001 Apr 23 14:58 Using the Shuttle RMS, Parazynski lifts Rafaello from Discovery cargo bay
2001 Apr 23 16:00 Rafaello logistics module is firmly connected to Destiny downward-facing Common Berthing Mechanism, having been lifted out of Endeavour cargo by by the Shuttle robot arm
2001 Apr 23 19:26 The hatches between Endeavour and Unity are closed to allow the internal pressure of the Orbiter to be lowered in preparation for a second space walk
2001 Apr 24 The crew of the ISS starts moving equipment from Rafaello into Destiny
2001 Apr 24 12:34 Parazynski and Hadfield start a space walk to complete electrical connections on the Canadarm-2, remove an aerial from the Early Communications System and move some other equipment - during the operation a cover from an electrical box is lost when it drifts away from Hadfield and lodges on the outside of the station (subsequently retrieved 2001 Dec 10 during the STS-108 mission )
2001 Apr 24 mission planners decide that a third scheduled space walk on April 26 will not be needed
2001 Apr 24 After he crew has retired for the night, mission Control detects that one of the ISS command and control computers has gone offline
2001 Apr 24 20:15 Parazynski and Hadfield complete their space walk after 7 hrs 40 min
2001 Apr 24 22:15 Endeavour crew returns to the ISS
2001 Apr 25 The ISS crew and mission Control work on the computer problem - planned work with the new robot arm is postponed until April 26
2001 Apr 26 mission planners decide to extend Endeavour docked time with the ISS by two days to 30 April - Russia refuses a corresponding delay in the upcoming Soyuz TM-32 launch - NASA aims for a departure on April 29 but Russia agrees that the Soyuz TM-32 docking can be delayed if necessary
2001 Apr 26 07:00 Soyuz TM-32 and its launching rocket are transferred from the assembly building to the launch pad
2001 Apr 26 08:45 The ISS command and control computer is back on line
2001 Apr 27 19:30 A second series of thruster firings by Endeavour results in an orbit of 381 x 404 kilometres - the firing was over a longer period than originally planned due to postponement of thruster firings on Apr 25 following the computer problem
2001 Apr 27 20:03 Using the Shuttle RMS, Rafaello is detached from Unity
2001 Apr 27 20:59 Rafaello is locked down in Endeavour cargo bay
2001 Apr 28 07:37 Soyuz TM-32 spacecraft launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz-U rocket, carrying a Soyuz 'Taxi' crew consisting of Talbat Musabeyev (commander), Yuri Baturin (Flight Engineer), and Dennis Tito (private US citizen) into an orbit of 182 x 231 kilometers at 51.6 degrees inclination
2001 Apr 28 14:30 Soyuz TM-32 orbit is 254 x 326 kilometres
2001 Apr 28 20:44 The ISS Canadarm-2 is used in a joint test with the Canadarm installed on Endeavour - Endeavour arm lifts a Spacelab pallet out of the cargo bay and passes it to the arm on the space station
2001 Apr 28 21:02 The ISS arm passes the Spacelab pallet back to Endeavour arm which then re-berths it in the cargo bay
2001 Apr 29 14:41 Hatches between the ISS and Endeavour are closed for the last time on mission STS-100
2001 Apr 29 17:34 Endeavour undocks from the International Space Station and conducts a fly-around inspection and films the Station using an IMAX camera
2001 Apr 29 18:28 A short firing of Endeavour thrusters causes it to move away from the ISS
2001 Apr 30 07:58 Soyuz TM-32 docks with the downward-facing docking port on Zarya - orbit is 381 x 403 kilometres
2001 Apr 30 The Soyuz TM-32 crew switches the contoured couches between their vehicle and Soyuz TM-31 - Soyuz TM-32 is now the Station operational emergency return vehicle
2001 May 1 Two landing opportunities for Endeavour at the Kennedy Space Center are waved off due to weather, controllers decide to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California
2001 May 1 15:02 Endeavour fires its OMS engines to initiate re-entry
2001 May 1 16:10 Endeavour lands on the Edward Air Force Base Runway
2001 May 1 16:11 Wheel stop - Endeavour mission is over
2001 May 6 02:21 Soyuz TM-31 undocks from the ISS with Musabeyev, Baturin and Tito aboard - ISS orbit is 379 x 402 kilometres
2001 May 6 04:47 Soyuz TM-31 fires its retro rockets to initiate re-entry
2001 May 6 05:41 Soyuz TM-31 lands in an area north-north-east of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan
2001 May 9 Endeavour begins a flight from Edwards Air Force Base to the Kennedy Space Centre attached to NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA)
2001 May 10 The ISS crew starts its first weekly check of the operation of Canadarm-2
2001 May 20 21:32 Progress M1-6 cargo supply ship launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome Launch Complex 1 by Soyuz-FG rocket into orbit of 188 x 218 kilometres - it carries 1.3 tonnes of cargo and 1.2 tonnes of propellant (900 kg of which is for replenishing Zvezda tanks)
2001 May 21 06:30 Progress M1-6 orbit is 270 x 317 kilometers
2001 May 23 00:23 Under the control of mission Control Centre - Moscow, Progress M1-6 docks with the rear-facing port of Zvezda , recently cleared by the departure of Soyuz TM-31 - ISS orbit is 374 x 398 kilometres
2001 May 30 NASA announces that the next Shuttle mission (STS-104) has been potponed from June 14 to July 7 in order to allow trouble-shooting on Canadarm-2 to be completed
2001 Jun 8 13:21 Usachev and Voss start a space walk 'inside' Zvezda multi-way docking unit - they remove the flat-faced hatch on the downward facing docking port and replace it with the conical hatch removed from the forward port after docking with Zarya - the downward-facing port can now be used for docking the 'Pirs ' joint airlock and docking compartment
2001 Jun 8 14:07 Usachev and Voss seal Zvezda external hatch and complete their space walk after 19 minutes (half the planned time)
2001 Jul 5 Crew of the ISS enters Quest for the first time, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and starts work on its internal activation
2001 Jul 12 Progress M-SO1 shipped from Moscow to Baikonur ready for launching the 'Pirs ' airlock/docking unit to the ISS
2001 Jul 12 09:03 Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-104 into orbit of 157 x 235 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination with crew consisting of Lt-Col Steven W Lindsey, USAF (commander), Major Charles O Hobaugh USMC (pilot), and mission specialists Dr Michael L Gernhardt, Dr Janet L Kavandi and Dr James F Reilly
2001 Jul 13 06:00 Atlantis orbit is 237 x 307 kilometres
2001 Jul 14 03:08 Atlantis docks with PMA-2 on the forward-facing end of Destiny - orbit is 367 x 389 kilometres
2001 Jul 15 03:10 Gernhardt and Reilly begin a space walk from Atlantis to remove an insulation cover from the Quest airlock - berthed in the Atlantis cargo bay - and to attach external fitting for later location of air tanks
2001 Jul 15 05:10 Under the control of Susan Helms aboard the ISS , the Station remote manipulator arm is used to lift Quest from the Atlantis cargo bay
2001 Jul 15 07:40 Quest is attached to Destiny downward-facing Common Berthing Mechanism - Gernhardt and Reilly then make power connections for Quest heating system
2001 Jul 15 09:09 Gernhardt and Reilly complete their space walk after 5 hrs 59 min
2001 Jul 16 Hatches between Atlantis and the ISS are open for a period to allow joint work between the crews
2001 Jul 17 A series of thruster firings by Atlantis over a one hour period raises the orbit to 372 x 390 kilometres
2001 Jul 18 mission managers decide to extend Atlantis stay with the ISS by one day in order to catch up some lost time caused by a water leak in Quest
2001 Jul 18 A second series of thruster firings by Atlantis raises the orbit to 381 x 397 kilometres
2001 Jul 18 03:04 After a half hour delay due to a computer glitch with the ISS command and control system, Gernhardt and Reilly begin a second space walk from Atlantis to oversee attachment of oxygen and nitrogen tanks to Quest - two oxygen tanks and one nitrogen tank were moved using the Station Canadarm-2 remote manipulator
2001 Jul 18 09:33 Gernhardt and Reilly complete their space walk after 6 hrs 29 min
2001 Jul 21 04:35 Gernhardt and Reilly begin their third space walk, and the first ever exit from the ISS , to attach the last of two nitrogen tanks to Quest, assisted by Canadarm-2 - they also checked out a connection on the Truss holding the solar arrays but failed to find the cause of unusual power readings
2001 Jul 21 08:37 Gernhardt and Reilly complete their space walk after 4 hrs 2 min
2001 Jul 22 02:00 Hatches between the ISS and Atlantis are closed
2001 Jul 22 04:54 Atlantis undocks from the ISS and begins a fly-round
2001 Jul 22 06:14 A short firing of Atlantis thrusters causes it to move away from the ISS
2001 Jul 22 The first in a series of short firings of the Progress M1-6 thrusters is used to make a minor adjustment of the inclination of the ISS orbit
2001 Jul 24 Two landing opportunities for Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center are waved off due to weather
2001 Jul 25 02:32 Atlantis fires its OMS engines to initiate re-entry
2001 Jul 25 03:38 Atlantis lands on the Kennedy Space Center Runway
2001 Jul 25 03:39 Wheel stop - Atlantis mission is over
2001 Aug 10 21:10 Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-105 into orbit of 155 x 233 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination with crew consisting of Col Scott J Horowit,z USAF (commander), Lt-Col Frederick W Sturchow, USMC (pilot), mission specialists Dr Daniel T Barry and Lt-Col Patrick G Forrester, USN - Discovery also carries the ISS Expedition 3 crew consisting of Capt Frank L Culbertson USN rt'd (station commander), Lt-Col Vladimir Dezhurov, Russian Air Force and Mikhail Tyurin of Rosaviakosmos
2001 Aug 12 18:42 Discovery docks with PMA-2 on the forward-facing end of Destiny while over the Indian Ocean - orbit is 384 x 399 kilometres
2001 Aug 12 19:05 After a short delay due to a problem with the docking mechanism, Discovery is properly connected to the ISS
2001 Aug 12 20:41 The hatch between Discovery and the ISS is opened
2001 Aug 13 15:55 Logistics module Leonardo is attached to the the downward-facing common berthing mechanism on Destiny after it has been lifted out of the Discovery cargo bay using Discovery manipulator arm
2001 Aug 13 18:47 Hatches between Destiny and Leonardo are opened
2001 Aug 13 19:13 The crew completes transfer of the Expedition 3 contoured seats into Soyuz TM-32, the Station is then officially 'handed over' to Expedition 3
2001 Aug 14 The crew works on unloading Leonardo and uploading new software into Zvezda computer system
2001 Aug 14 A series of thruster firings by Discovery raises the ISS orbit by 3 kilometres
2001 Aug 15 12:10 The Expedition 3 crew delivers speeches to commemorate Zarya 1000th day in orbit
2001 Aug 15 13:56 Barry and Forrester start a space walk to attach an ammonium coolant reservoir the Staions cooling systems to the ISS hull, and to attach an experiment containing 750 material samples for studying the effects of long exposure to space
2001 Aug 15 20:12 Barry & Forrester complete their space walk after 6 hrs 16 min
2001 Aug 15 21:52 Hatches between Discovery and the ISS are closed in order to lower the air pressure inside the Shuttle prior to a space walk
2001 Aug 17 A series of thruster firings by Discovery over a one hour period raises the ISS orbit further - it is now 391 x 402 kilometres
2001 Aug 18 13:42 Barry and Forrester start a space walk to lay out heater cables and install handrails on the outside of Destiny - this in preparation for installation of a new truss on a later mission
2001 Aug 18 19:11 Barry & Forrester complete their space walk after 5 hrs 29 min
2001 Aug 19 01:00 Progress M-4 and its launching rocket are rolled-out to the launch pad at Baikonur
2001 Aug 19 19:15 Leonardo is returned to Discovery cargo bay after being lifted away from Destiny using the Shuttle remote manipulator arm
2001 Aug 20 12:00 Hatches between Discovery and the ISS are closed
2001 Aug 20 14:52 Discovery undocks from the ISS and begins a fly-round
2001 Aug 20 18:29 A 'Getaway Special' payload - Simplesat is deployed from Discovery cargo bay - its purpose is to demonstrate Global Positioning System attitude control and pointing in free flight
2001 Aug 20 The ISS crew activates Progress M1-6 prior to its departure and seals the hatch from the ISS
2001 Aug 21 09:23 Progress M-4 cargo supply ship launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome Launch Complex 1 by Soyuz rocket into orbit of 188 x 218 kilometres - it carries 1.73 tonnes of cargo and 890kg of propellant (most of which is for replenishing Zvezda tanks)
2001 Aug 22 06:01 Progress M1-6 undocks from the ISS , leaving Zvezda rear port available for further dockings
2001 Aug 22 Progress M1-6 fires its onboard engine and re-enters the Earth atmosphere to burn up over the Pacific Ocean
2001 Aug 22 17:15 Discovery fires its OMS engines to initiate re-entry
2001 Aug 22 18:22 Discovery lands on the Kennedy Space Center runway
2001 Aug 22 18:23 Wheel stop - Discovery mission is over and the ISS crew exchange between Expedition 2 and Expedition 3 has been completed
2001 Aug 23 09:51 Under ground control - Progress M-4 docks with the rear port of Zvezda , seven minutes earlier than planned
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