Expedition 9

ISS Expedition
Name = Expedition 9
Insignia = Expedition 9 insignia.png CallSign = Expedition 9
NumberOfCrew = 2
LaunchDate = April 19, 2004 03:19:00 UTC
LaunchSite = Baikonur Cosmodrome
LaunchVehicle = Soyuz TMA-4
Apogee = 396 km
Perigee = 384 km
OrbitalPeriod = 92 min
Inclination = 51.6 deg
StationVisitLength = 185 days 16:04
StationEVALength = 15 h 45 min
LandingDate = October 24, 2004 00:35:00 UTC
LandingSite = 90km north of Arkalyk
LandingVehicle = Soyuz TMA-4
Duration = 187 days 21:16
Orbits = 2,940
Distance = ~121,802,083 km
Mass = 187,016 kg
CrewPhoto = ISS Expedition 9 crew.jpg
CrewCaption = L-R: Edward Fincke (U.S.A.) and Gennady Padalka (Russia)
previous = Expedition 8
next = Expedition 10

Expedition 9 (2004) is the 9th expedition to the International Space Station.

Crew

*Gennady Padalka (2), Commander - flagicon|RUS RSA
*Edward Fincke (1), Flight Engineer - flagicon|USA NASA

(1) number of spaceflights each crew member has completed, including this mission.

Mission parameters

*Perigee: 384 km
*Apogee: 396 km
*Inclination: 51.6°
*Period: 92 min
*Docked: April 21, 2004 - 05:01:00 UTC
*Undocked: October 23, 2004 - 21:05 UTC
*Time Docked: 185 days, 16 hours, 04 minutes----

Mission Objectives

Padalka and Fincke arrived at the Station on April 21 aboard the ISS Soyuz TMA-4 spacecraft with European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut André Kuipers. After more than a week of joint operations and handover activities, Padalka and Fincke officially took command of the Station on April 29 when Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri left the Station.

Expedition 8 and Kuipers returned to Earth that same day aboard the ISS Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft. Kuipers' 11-day mission to the ISS was part of a commercial agreement between ESA and the Federal Space Agency of Russia.

pacewalks

The Expedition 9 crew has conducted four spacewalks during its stay at the International Space Station. The four spacewalks were devoted to ISS maintenance and assembly. All four will be based out of the Pirs Docking Compartment and will use Russian Orlan spacesuits.

Before these four extravehicular activities (EVAs), 52 spacewalks had been performed at the ISS, with 27 based out of the Station.

Learn more about the spacewalks required to build the International Space Station.

EVA Cosmonauts and Astronauts and Suit IDGennady Padalka (EV1): red stripesMike Fincke (EV2): blue stripes

Spacewalk 1 Gennady Padalka, Mike FinckeTime: 14 minutes, 22 secondsStart time: 4:56 p.m. CDT (2156 GMT) June 24 2004End time: 5:10 p.m. CDT (2210 GMT) June 24 2004

The spacewalk was cut short due to a pressure problem in Fincke's prime oxygen tank in his spacesuit. Mission managers decided to reschedule the spacewalk for June 30.

Spacewalk 2Gennady Padalka, Mike FinckeTime: 5 hours, 40 minutesStart time: 4:19 p.m. CDT (2119 GMT) June 29 2004End time: 9:59 p.m. CDT June 29 2004 (0259 GMT June 30 2004)

Padalka and Fincke replaced a Remote Power Controller (RPCM) that failed in late April, causing a loss of power in Control Moment Gyroscope No. 2 (CMG 2). A failed Remote Power Controller Module is responsible for the temporary loss of CMG 2 in April. The gyroscope is one of four that control the ISS' orientation.

Spacewalk 3Gennady Padalka, Mike FinckeTime: 4 hours, 30 minutesStart time: 1:58 a.m. CDT (0658 GMT) 3 August 2004End time: 6:28 a.m. CDT (1128 GMT) 3 August 2004

In preparation for the arrival of the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), Padalka and Fincke removed laser retro reflectors from the Zvezda Service Module assembly compartment and installed three updated laser retro reflectors and one internal videometer target. They installed two antennas.

The spacewalkers removed Kromka Panel No. 2 and installed Kromka Panel No. 3. The Kromka experiment exposes various materials to the space environment. They also replaced another materials science experiment.

Spacewalk 4Gennady Padalka, Mike FinckeTime: 5 hours, 20 minutesStart time: 16:43 UTC, September 3 2004End time: 22:04 UTC, September 3 2004

Expedition 9's fourth scheduled EVA will continue preparing the Station for future assembly operations and the arrival of the ATV. The spacewalkers will replace the Zarya Control Module flow control panel and install four safety tether fairleads on Zarya's handrails.

ATV support operations will include installing equipment for the air-to-air radio link antennas and removing all covers from antennas.

Other tasks include installing a Pressure Control and Exposure Monitor Sensor on Pirs and installing protective components on the brackets of Pirs' ring handrails on EVA Hatch No. 2, time permitting.

Mission patch

The design of the Expedition 9 mission patch includes a tribute to astronauts and cosmonauts who gave their lives in space exploration. The outspread wings of the eagle have 16 stars and 1 star of David. They represent the Apollo 1 crew Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. Space Shuttle Challenger STS-51L crew Francis "Dick" Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnick and Christa McAuliffe. Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 crew Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael P. Anderson, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. Around the eagles neck are 4 small red stars and one larger red star. The large star is for Yuri Gagarin the first man in space during Vostok 1, he was killed during training for Soyuz 3. The other 4 are for Soyuz 1 cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 11 crew Georgi Dobrovolski, Viktor Patsayev and Vladislav Volkov.