ISS Expedition 50
Promotional Poster
Mission typeISS Expedition
Expedition
Space stationInternational Space Station
Began30 October 2016 (2016-10-30Z) UTC[1]
Ended10 April 2017 (2017-04-11Z) UTC
Arrived aboardSoyuz MS-02
Soyuz MS-03
Departed aboardSoyuz MS-02
Soyuz MS-03
Soyuz MS-04
Crew
Crew size6
MembersExpedition 49/50:
Robert S. Kimbrough
Andrei Borisenko
Sergey Ryzhikov
Expedition 50/51:
Oleg Novitsky
Thomas Pesquet
Expedition 50/51/52:
Peggy Whitson
EVAs4
EVA duration26 hours 8 min

Expedition 50 mission patch

(l-r) Borisenko, Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, Pesquet, Whitson, Novitsky 
The ISS as seen from California transiting the Sun on December 17, 2016
HTV-6 grappled by the ISS robotic arm December 13, 2016
Expedition 50 crewmembers Pesquet (right) and Kimbrough (left) in the ISS Cupola, December 2016

Expedition 50 was the 50th expedition to the International Space Station.

Robert S. Kimbrough, Andrei Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov transferred from Expedition 49. Expedition 50 began upon the departure of Soyuz MS-01 on October 28,[1] 2016 and was concluded upon the departure of Soyuz MS-02 on April 10, 2017. The crew of Soyuz MS-03 were transferred to Expedition 51.

After the launch of Soyuz MS-03, Peggy Whitson, at age 56, became the oldest woman to fly into space. By taking command of Expedition 51 on April 10, 2017, she also became the first woman to command two ISS expeditions (after Expedition 16 in 2007–2008).[2][3] Soyuz MS-03 docked at the International Space Station on November 19, 2016, bringing the total number of people in the station to 6.[4]

Crew

Position First Part
(October to November 2016) 		Second Part
(November 2016 to April 2017)
Commander United States Robert S. Kimbrough, NASA
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1 Russia Sergey Ryzhikov, RSA
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2 Russia Andrei Borisenko, RSA
Second and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer 3 United States Peggy Whitson, NASA
Third (last NASA) spaceflight
Flight Engineer 4 Russia Oleg Novitsky, RSA
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 5 France Thomas Pesquet, ESA
First spaceflight

Mission overview

Expedition 49/50 launch and docking

Main article: Soyuz MS-02

Soyuz MS-02 launched on October 19, 2016, transporting Robert S. Kimbrough, Andrei Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov, who would make up the Expedition 49/50 crew. MS-02 docked with the (Poisk (MRM-2) module on October 21, 2016.[5]

Expedition 50/51 launch and docking

Main article: Soyuz MS-03

Soyuz MS-03 launched on November 17, 2016, transporting Oleg Novitskiy, Peggy Whitson and Thomas Pesquet.[6] MS-03 docked with the Rassvet module on November 19, 2016.

Activities

On 25 December 2016 the crew celebrated Christmas by floating in micro-gravity and opening Christmas presents recently delivered on a Japanese cargo spacecraft.[7] One astronaut wore a Santa hat in orbit.[7] The French astronaut Pesquet shared special French food with the station crew.[7][8] Pesquet also made a Christmas-time special video for the ESA.[8]

The six-person Expedition 50 crew poses for a group portrait inside the Columbus lab module.
(Top row from left) Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson and Oleg Novitskiy.
(Bottom row from left) Andrey Borisenko, Kimbrough and Sergey Ryzhikov.

Science activities

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Uncrewed spaceflights to the ISS

A number of resupply missions visited the International Space Station during Expedition 50.

Spacecraft
- ISS flight number 		Country Mission Launcher Launch
(UTC) 		Docked/Berthed
(UTC) † 		Undocked/Unberthed
(UTC) 		Duration (Docked) Deorbit
Cygnus CRS OA-5
- CRS OA-5 		 United States Logistics Antares 230 17 Oct 2016, 23:45:40 23 Oct 2016, 11:28 21 Nov 2016, 12:35 29d 1h 7m 27 Nov 2016, 23:36
Progress MS-04
- ISS-65P 		 Russia Logistics Soyuz-U 1 Dec 2016, 14:51:45 Spacecraft separated from third stage before reaching orbit; loss of mission
Kounotori 6
- HTV-6 		 Japan Logistics H-IIB 9 Dec 2016, 13:26:47 13 Dec 2016, 10:37 27 Jan 2017 15:45 [9] 45d 5h 8m 5 February 2017, 15:06[10]
SpaceX CRS-10
- CRS SpX-10 		 United States Logistics Falcon 9 19 February 2017, 14:39:00 23 February 2017, 13:12 19 March 2017, 09:11 23d 19h 54m 19 March 2017, 14:00[11]
Progress MS-05
- ISS-66P 		 Russia Logistics Soyuz-U 22 February 2017 05:58:33 [12][13] 24 February 2017, 08:34 20 Jul 2017, 17:46 146d 9h 16m 20 Jul 2017, 20:58

Spacewalks

EVA # Spacewalkers Start (UTC) End (UTC) Duration
EVA 1
 United States Peggy Whitson
United States Shane Kimbrough 		January 6, 2017
11:23 		January 6, 2017
17:55 		6 hours 32 minutes
Installed adapter plates and cables for new batteries on 3A power channel, pictures of AMS, removal of camera and routing of Ethernet cable.[14]
EVA 2
 United States Shane Kimbrough
France Thomas Pesquet 		January 13, 2017
11:22 		January 13, 2017
17:20 		5 hours 58 minutes
Primary objectives: Retrieve Adapter Plate E and F from the Express Pallet (EP), Install Adapter Plate F in Slot 6, Relocate Battery 4 to Adapter Plate F, Install Adapter Plate E in Slot 4, Retrieve and Install Adapter Plate D in Slot 2, Fasten H1 Bolts on Li-Ion Batteries in Slots 1 and 5.

Get-ahead tasks:Node 3 Shields Bundle #3 Temp Stow, Mobile Transporter Relay Assembly (MTRA) Camera Light Pan and Tilt Assembly (CLPA) Swap, Latching End Effector (LEE) A Worksite Interface Fixture (WIF) Adapter R&R, S0 aft to Z1 forward (Rat's Nest) Photo Mapping, Secure Solar Array Blanket Boxes (SABB) Restraints, Relocate Shields Bundle #2 to Node 3.[15]

EVA 3
 United States Shane Kimbrough
France Thomas Pesquet 		March 24, 2017
11:24 		March 24, 2017
17:58 		6 hours 34 minutes
Prepare PMA for move, EXT-2 MDM removal & replace with new EPIC MDM, Camera Work, Lubricated Canadarm2 end effector and inspected a radiator value.[16]
EVA 4
 United States Shane Kimbrough
United States Peggy Whitson 		March 30, 2017
12:29 		March 30, 2017
19:33 		7 hours 4 minutes
EXT-1 MDM removal & replace with new EPIC MDM, Node 3 axial shields install including replacing a lost shield with the PMA-3 cover, PMA-3 cummerbunds install, PMA-3 cover removal, PMA-3 connections, close Node 3 port CDC, Inspection & cleaning of the Earth-facing berthing port of the Harmony module.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "'Golden' expedition: 50th commander takes charge of space station". collectspace.com. 30 October 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  2. ^ "NASA's Peggy Whitson Becomes Oldest Woman in Space - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  3. ^ Chiara Palazzo Associated Press (18 November 2016). "Nasa veteran Peggy Whitson becomes the oldest woman in space as she blasts off for ISS". The Telegraph. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  4. ^ "Welcome Aboard! New Arrivals Make Six Expedition 50 Crew Members | Space Station". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
  5. ^ "Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft docks with Expedition 49/50 crew". 21 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Soyuz MS-03 mission".
  7. ^ a b c "Christmas in Orbit: Astronauts Make Merry Aboard the Space Station". Space.com. 25 December 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Christmas in space features French cuisine". 23 December 2016.
  9. ^ "KOUNOTORI6 Leaves the ISS". JAXA. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  10. ^ "KOUNOTORI6 performed its third de-orbit maneuver for reentry". JAXA. 5 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  11. ^ "CRS-10 Dragon completes homecoming to conclude successful ISS mission | NASASpaceFlight.com". www.nasaspaceflight.com. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 2017-03-24.
  12. ^ "After multiple delays, Progress MS-05 set for launch". spaceflightinsider. February 20, 2017.
  13. ^ Chris Gebhardt (February 21, 2017). "Longest-serving rocket in history bids farewell with Progress MS-05 launch". NasaSpaceFlight.com.
  14. ^ Pete Harding (2017-01-13). "EVA-39: Spacewalkers complete the upgrading of ISS batteries". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
  15. ^ HQ (2017-01-13). "ISS Daily Summary Report – 1/13/2017". NASA.gov. Retrieved 2017-01-13. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  16. ^ Mark Garcia (2017-03-24). "Spacewalkers Successfully Complete Primary Tasks". NASA.gov. Retrieved 2017-03-24.

External links

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