Expedition 21
Expedition 21 was the 21st long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The expedition began on 30 October 2009, with Frank de Winne becoming the first ESA astronaut to command a space mission.
Mission type | ISS Expedition |
---|---|
Expedition | |
Space Station | International Space Station |
Began | 30 September 2009 |
Ended | 1 December 2009 |
Arrived aboard | Soyuz TMA-15 Soyuz TMA-16 Stott: STS-128 Space Shuttle Discovery |
Departed aboard | Soyuz TMA-15 Soyuz TMA-16 Stott: STS-129 Space Shuttle Atlantis |
Crew | |
Crew size | 6 (to November) 5 (from November) |
Members | Expedition 20/21: Frank De Winne Roman Romanenko Robert Brent Thirsk Nicole P. Stott (to November) Expedition 21/22: Jeffrey N. Williams Maksim Surayev |
![]() ![]() from left to right: Maksim Surayev, Nicole Stott, Jeffrey Williams, Frank De Winne (commander), Robert Thirsk, Roman Romanenko |
![](../I/Expedition_21_Lifts_Off.jpg.webp)
The handover between Expedition 20 and Expedition 21 required three Soyuz vehicles being docked to the station at the same time, the first time this has occurred.
Soyuz TMA-16 brought the final members of Expedition 21 to the ISS, along with space tourist Guy Laliberté. Laliberté returned to Earth on Soyuz TMA-14 with two members of Expedition 20 on 11 October 2009.
Nicole P. Stott was the last ISS expedition crew member to fly on the Space Shuttle. She returned to Earth aboard STS-129 in November 2009.
Crew
Position | First Part (October to November 2009) |
Second Part (November to December 2009) | |
---|---|---|---|
Commander | ![]() Second and last spaceflight | ||
Flight Engineer 1 | ![]() First spaceflight | ||
Flight Engineer 2 | ![]() Second and last Spaceflight | ||
Flight Engineer 3 | ![]() Third spaceflight | ||
Flight Engineer 4 | ![]() First spaceflight | ||
Flight Engineer 5 | ![]() First spaceflight |
Backup crew
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
- NASA HQ (2008). "NASA Assigns Space Station Crews, Updates Expedition Numbering". NASA. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
External links
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to ISS Expedition 21. |