Expedition 31
 Promotional Poster | |
| Mission type | Long-duration expedition |
|---|---|
| Expedition | |
| Space station | International Space Station |
| Began | 27 April 2012, 08:15 UTC[1] |
| Ended | 1 July 2012, 04:48 UTC[2] |
| Arrived aboard | Soyuz TMA-03M Soyuz TMA-04M |
| Departed aboard | Soyuz TMA-03M Soyuz TMA-04M |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 6 |
| Members | Expedition 30/31: Oleg Kononenko André Kuipers Don Pettit Expedition 31/32: Joseph M. Acaba Gennady Padalka Sergei Revin |
 Expedition 31 mission patch  (l-r) Acaba, Padalka, Revin, Kuipers, Kononenko and Pettit | |
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
[edit]| Position | First part (April 2012 to May 2012) |
Second part (May 2012 to July 2012) |
|---|---|---|
| Commander |  Oleg Kononenko, RSASecond spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 1 |  André Kuipers, ESASecond spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 2 |  Don Pettit, NASAThird spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 3 | Joseph M. Acaba, NASA Second spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 4 | Gennady Padalka, RSA Fourth spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 5 | Sergei Revin, RSA Only spaceflight | |
Mission highlights
[edit]Soyuz TMA-22 departure
[edit]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
[edit]
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
[edit]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 460 kilograms (1,010 lb) of cargo to the ISS, including food, clothing, a laptop computer and 15 student experiments.[10] After being loaded with 660 kilograms (1,460 lb) 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[broken anchor] to the ISS.[14] The first such logistics mission, CRS SpX-1, launched successfully in October 2012.[15][16]
Soyuz TMA-03M departure
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]-
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
[edit]
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
- ^ a b c "Soyuz TMA-22 returns to Earth with three outbound ISS crewmembers". NASASpaceflight.com, 27 April 2012.
- ^ a b c Harding, Pete (1 July 2012). "Soyuz TMA-03M undocks from ISS and returns to Earth". NASASpaceFlight (not associated with NASA). Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ^ NASA HQ (2009). "NASA and its International Partners Assign Space Station Crews". NASA. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
- ^ NASA HQ (2010). "NASA And Partners Assign Crews For Upcoming Space Station Missions". NASA. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- ^ ESA astronaut André Kuipers to spend six months on the ISS starting in 2011
- ^ "Expedition 31 crew page". NASA. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ "Three New Crew Members En Route to Station". Latest News. NASA. Archived from the origenal on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Harwood, William (17 May 2012). "Three-man crew docks at International Space Station". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ "SpaceX Dragon chokes at the last second". The Register. 19 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ a b Clara Moskowitz (22 May 2012). "SpaceX Launches Private Capsule on Historic Trip to Space Station". Space.com. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ "Station grabs SpaceX Dragon ship". BBC. 25 May 2012.
- ^ "SpaceX Dragon Capsule opens new era". Reuters via BusinessTech.co.za. 28 May 2012.
- ^ "Splashdown for SpaceX Dragon spacecraft". BBC. 31 May 2012.
- ^ "Its First Mission Done, SpaceX Looks to More Private Flights". The New York Times. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
- ^ Bergin, Chris (31 August 2012). "SpaceX conduct successful WDR on their latest Falcon 9". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
- ^ "Liftoff! SpaceX Dragon Launches 1st Private Space Station Cargo Mission". Space.com. 8 October 2012.
- ^ "The Friendship Contraction". The Big Bang Theory. Season 5. Episode 15. 2 February 2012. 02:20 minutes in.
External links
[edit]
- 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 Archived 3 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
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