Expedition 23

Expedition 23
Promotional Poster
Mission typeLong-duration expedition
Mission duration76 days, 16 hours, 1 minute
Expedition
Space stationInternational Space Station
Began18 March 2010, 08:03 (2010-03-18UTC08:03Z) UTC
Ended2 June 2010, 00:04 (2010-06-02UTC00:05Z) UTC
Arrived aboardSoyuz TMA-17
Soyuz TMA-18
Departed aboardSoyuz TMA-17
Soyuz TMA-18
Crew
Crew size6
MembersExpedition 22/23:
Oleg Kotov
Soichi Noguchi
Timothy Creamer

Expedition 23/24:
Aleksandr Skvortsov
Mikhail Korniyenko
Tracy Caldwell Dyson

Expedition 23 mission patch

(l-r) Korniyenko, Caldwell Dyson, Skvortsov, Kotov, Creamer and Noguchi

Expedition 23 (Russian: МКС-23) was the 23rd long-duration mission to the International Space Station (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.[1] The Soyuz spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 00:04 EST on 2 April 2010.[2]

Crew

Position First part
(March 2010 to April 2010) 		Second part
(April 2010 to June 2010)
Commander Russia Oleg Kotov, RSA
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1 Japan Soichi Noguchi, JAXA
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2 United States Timothy Creamer, NASA
Only spaceflight
Flight Engineer 3 Russia Aleksandr Skvortsov, RSA
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 4 Russia Mikhail Korniyenko, RSA
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 5 United States Tracy Caldwell Dyson, NASA
Second spaceflight
Source
NASA[3]

Backup crew

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.[4] The Expedition 23 crew continued outfitting the newest modules of the nearly completed space station. The crew welcomed the shuttle flight STS-131 in April 2010. The Expedition 23 crew also saw the arrival of the Rasvet Russian docking module (MRM1) aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-132, which launched on 14 May 2010.

The three astronauts of STS-131 and Tracy Caldwell (bottom left) of ISS Expedition 23, the first time four women being at the same time in space.[5]
  • Caldwell Dyson, Skvortsov and Korniyenko in front of their Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft.
    Caldwell Dyson, Skvortsov and Korniyenko in front of their Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft.
  • Skvortsov, Caldwell Dyson and Korniyenko wave farewell from the bottom of the Soyuz rocket.
    Skvortsov, Caldwell Dyson and Korniyenko wave farewell from the bottom of the Soyuz rocket.
  • Soyuz TMA-18 launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
    Soyuz TMA-18 launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
  • Expedition 23 crew members in the Destiny laboratory.
    Expedition 23 crew members in the Destiny laboratory.
  • STS-131 & Expedition 23 group portrait.
    STS-131 & Expedition 23 group portrait.
  • Expedition 23 lands.
    Expedition 23 lands.

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  1. ^ Harwood, William (4 April 2010). "Soyuz capsule arrives at International Space Station". Spaceflightnow. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  2. ^ William Harwood (2 April 2010). "Soyuz crew transport capsule heads for space station". Spaceflightnow. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  3. ^ NASA HQ (2008). "NASA Assigns Space Station Crews, Updates Expedition Numbering". NASA. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
  4. ^ NASA (April 2010). "Press Kit Expedition 23 and 24 Science for Six" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  5. ^ "Four Women will Fly in Space for the First Time in the History". Russian Federal Space Agency. 3 April 2010. Archived from the original on 8 April 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
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