 Getting in shape: (L-R) ESA astronaut André Kuipers, PI9ISS, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, and NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, jog on the grounds of the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, prior to their launch earlier this month. [NASA Photo by Bill Ingalls] |
NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 28, 2004--After some six months living aboard the International Space Station, the Expedition 8 crew of Mike Foale, KB5UAC, and Alex "Sasha" Kaleri, U8MIR, is preparing to return to Earth. The Expedition 9 replacement crew of Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, and Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, arrived April 21 aboard a Russian Soyuz vehicle. During their six-month duty tour, Padalka, 45, will serve as Expedition 9 commander and Soyuz commander, while Fincke, 36, will be the NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer.
A change-of-command ceremony aboard the space outpost April 26 marked the passing of the baton from Foale to Padalka. NASA says command will officially shift at 1700 UTC April 29, when the hatches between the ISS and the Soyuz spacecraft close.
Accompanying Fincke and Padalka aboard the Soyuz flight was European Space Agency
(ESA) astronaut André Kuipers, PI9ISS, of the Netherlands. He's been conducting
experiments aboard the ISS under a joint agreement between the ESA and Russia.
Kuipers will be aboard the earthbound Soyuz
flight with Foale and Kaleri, which is set to leave the ISS April 29 at 2052
UTC and is scheduled to arrive in the Kazakhstan steppes at 0109 UTC the
following day. Since last week, the astronauts and cosmonauts have remained
busy with handover briefings and scientific experiments. Kuipers also conducted
two successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school
group contacts with schools in his native country.
 Farewell: Wearing Russian Sokol suits, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, RN3DT (top), NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT (center), and ESA astronaut André Kuipers, PI9ISS (bottom), bid farewell as they prepare to board the Soyuz vehicle prior to their April 19 launch to the ISS. [NASA Photo] |
On April 24, Kuipers answered questions posed by students gathered at Space Expo in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. Jörg Hahn, DL3LUM/PA1MUC, handled Earth station duties for the contact between PI9ESA and PI9ISS. Among other things, the students--selected from several school through a competition--wanted to know about how the astronauts cut their hair in space, how long the crew members been aboard the ISS and how cold it is in space. One youngster wanted to know if it was easy to sit in a chair aboard the ISS, while yet another wondered about an Internet connection.
The following day, Kuipers spoke with youngsters from
three schools--Saltoschool Hanevoet in Eindhoven, Sint Joriscollege and the
Einhoven Technical University. The university's Amateur Radio club station
hosted the event. Kuipers missed the initial scheduled QSO because he was still
busy with an experiment, but he showed up on the next available pass. During
the contact between the university's PI4TUE and PI9ISS, Kuipers answered 20
questions as the ISS passed over southern France. Among other topics, students
wondered about how Kuipers was spending his free time, how high above Earth the
ISS orbited and how the crew members were able to secure tools aboard the space
station. Both contacts were conducted in Dutch.
 Returning home soon: Expedition 8 crew members Mike Foale, KB5UAC (left), and Alex "Sasha" Kaleri, U8MIR, enjoy a meal in the ISS galley. [NASA Photo] |
Kuipers and the Expedition 8 crew will return aboard the Soyuz spacecraft that's been attached to the ISS since their arrival last October. Recent news accounts reported the existence of a small helium leak on the Soyuz. Russian and NASA officials say the leak is minor and poses no danger. Helium is used to pressurize the Soyuz fuel tanks as it deorbits during is descent to Earth. The space officials said similar leaks have occurred in the past and did not affect the Soyuz landings.
Since NASA grounded its space shuttle fleet following the February 2003 Columbia disaster, the Soyuz spacecraft is the only means of transporting crews to and from the ISS.
ISS crew members also learned last week that another of the ISS's three control moment gyroscopes (CMG) had failed. NASA says the CMGs use power from the solar arrays to control the station's orientation. Flight controllers traced the problem to a remote power controller module (RPCM)--a kind of remotely controlled circuit breaker--that malfunctioned and cut off power to the gyro.
The two CMGs still operating are the minimum needed to control the ISS without resorting to other means. NASA says they'll be sufficient until the RPCM is replaced during a space walk sometime within the next month.
For information about NASA and the International Space
Station, visit the NASA Human
Space Flight Web site.--some
information from NASA and from Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
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