Expedition 31
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Template:Infobox spaceflight Expedition 31 was the 31st long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). It began on 27 April 2012 with the departure from the ISS of the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft, which returned the Expedition 30 crew to Earth.[1] The expedition ended on 1 July 2012, when crew members Oleg Kononenko, André Kuipers and Don Pettit departed from the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-03M, marking the beginning of Expedition 32.[2]
Crew
| Position | First part (April 2012 to May 2012) |
Second part (May 2012 to July 2012) |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Template:Flagicon Oleg Kononenko, RSA Second spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 1 | Template:Flagicon André Kuipers, ESA Second spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 2 | Template:Flagicon Don Pettit, NASA Third spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 3 | Template:Flagicon Joseph M. Acaba, NASA Second spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 4 | Template:Flagicon Gennady Padalka, RSA Fourth spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 5 | Template:Flagicon Sergei Revin, RSA Only spaceflight | |
Mission highlights
Soyuz TMA-22 departure
Expedition 31 formally began on 27 April 2012, with the departure from the ISS of the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft. Soyuz TMA-22 successfully returned Expedition 30 astronauts Dan Burbank, Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoli Ivanishin to Earth.[1] The ISS was left under the command of astronauts Kononenko, Kuipers and Pettit, who had arrived at the station aboard Soyuz TMA-03M on 23 December 2011.
Soyuz TMA-04M arrival
Script error: No such module "Side box". The final three members of Expedition 31 – Acaba, Padalka and Revin – arrived at the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-04M, which launched on 15 May 2012,[7] and docked to the ISS on 17 May at 4:36 UTC.[8]
SpaceX Dragon test mission
SpaceX's unmanned Dragon spacecraft conducted a test rendezvous with the ISS during Expedition 31, as part of NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program; it was the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous with the ISS. Following a series of delays,[9] Dragon launched on 22 May 2012, and berthed successfully with the ISS on 25 May, after conducting a series of orbital test manoeuvres.[10][11] Dragon carried around Script error: No such module "convert". of cargo to the ISS, including food, clothing, a laptop computer and 15 student experiments.[10] After being loaded with Script error: No such module "convert". of downmass cargo, including completed experiments and redundant equipment, it undocked from the station and returned to Earth on 31 May 2012.[12][13] Dragon landed intact in the Pacific Ocean and was successfully recovered, allowing SpaceX to begin regular cargo flights to the ISS.[14] The first such logistics mission, CRS SpX-1, launched successfully in October 2012.[15][16]
Soyuz TMA-03M departure
Soyuz TMA-03M departed from the ISS on 1 July 2012, successfully returning Kononenko, Kuipers and Pettit to Earth. Their departure marked the formal end of Expedition 31, and the beginning of Expedition 32.[2]
In popular culture
In the 2012 The Big Bang Theory episode "The Friendship Contraction", character Howard Wolowitz reveals that he will be a member of a fictionalized version of Expedition 31, alongside Dimitri Rezinov, a character created for the show, and Mike Massimino, playing a fictional version of himself.[17]
Gallery
-
Soyuz TMA-22 departs the ISS on 27 April 2012, marking the beginning of Expedition 31.
-
An Orthodox priest blesses the Soyuz rocket on 14 May 2012.
-
The Expedition 31 crew wave goodbye before the launch on 15 May 2012.
-
The launch of Soyuz TMA-04M on 15 May 2012.
-
SpaceX's unmanned Dragon spacecraft approaches the ISS on 25 May 2012.
-
Expedition 31 posing inside the docked Dragon capsule on 29 May 2012.
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ a b Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
- ↑ a b Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ ESA astronaut André Kuipers to spend six months on the ISS starting in 2011
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
Script error: No such module "Side box".
- NASA's Space Station Expeditions page
- End of Expedition 30/Beginning of Expedition 31 video
- Expedition 30/31 – Change of Command Ceremony video
- End of Expedition 31/Beginning of Expedition 32 video
- Expedition 31/32 – Change of Command Ceremony video
- Expedition 31 Photography Script error: No such module "webarchive".
Script error: No such module "Navbox".