International Space Station (ISS) Diary
Expedition 2

This section of the diary covers the period from 2001 March - August.

Yuri Usachev, James Voss and Susan Helms take over from the Expedition 1 crew.

 

Date and Time (GMT)

Event

2001 Mar 8

11:42

Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-102 into orbit of 159 x 235 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination with crew consisting of Capt James D Wetherbee, USN (commander), Lt-Col James M Kelly, USAF (pilot), and mission specialists Andy Thomas and Paul Richards - as passengers, Discovery carries the ISS Expedition 2 crew consisting of Yuri Usachev (station commander), Col James S Voss, USA (ret'd) and Col Susan Helms, USAF

2001 Mar 8

16:00

Discovery's orbit is 233 x 273 kilometres

2001 Mar 10

05:34

Originally planned time for docking of Discovery with the ISS - it is delayed by difficulty with one of the main solar panels which were turned edge-on to Discovery on its approach to minimise contamination from exhaust plumes - it will not latch in place as planned so the panel is rotated slightly in order that an alternative latch can be used

2001 Mar 10

06:38

Discovery docks with PMA-2 on the forward-facing end of the Destiny module while over the southern Pacific Ocean near New Zealand - orbit is 371 x 381 kilometres

2001 Mar 11

05:12

Helms and Voss begin a space walk to prepare for removing PMA-3 in order that the Leonardo module may be attached to Destiny - they also move a cradle assembly from Discovery's cargo bay to the outside of Destiny which will be used later to mount the Station's own RMS, and fit a cable tray to the outside of Destiny - they spend the last hour of the space walk waiting inside the airlock while the PMA-3 adaptor is moved

2001 Mar 11

-

Yuri Usachev's contoured seat is fitted inside Soyuz TM-31 and he exchanges places aboard the ISS with Yuri Gidzenko - he begins the handover routines with Bill Shepherd as relieving commander

2001 Feb 11

13:43

PMA-3 is locked onto Unity after being moved by Thomas using Discovery's Remote Manipulator System (RMS) from the lower side of Unity to the left hand side (when facing forward)

2001 Mar 11

14:08

Helms and Voss complete their space walk after 8 hrs 56 minutes - the longest space walk in Shuttle history

2001 Mar 12

03:37

Thomas attaches the RMS to Italy's Leonardo logistics module in Discovery's cargo bay

2001 Mar 12

04:10

Using the RMS, Thomas lifts Leonardo from Discovery's cargo bay

2001 Mar 12

06:02

Leonardo is firmly connected to Unity's downward-facing Common Berthing Mechanism

2001 Mar 12

-

James Voss's contoured seat is fitted inside Soyuz TM-31 and he exchanges places aboard the ISS with Sergei Krikalev

2001 Mar 13

05:23

Richards and Thomas start a space walk to add various items of equipment to the outside of the ISS including power cables for the upcoming RMS - they also move to the top of the tower on the Z-1 Truss in order to activate a latch on one of the solar panels

2001 Mar 13

-

The ISS crew begins moving the five tonnes of equipment racks from inside Leonardo for re-fitting into the Destiny laboratory module

2001 Mar 13

11:44

Richards and Thomas complete their space walk after 6 hrs 21 mins - they then remain inside the airlock while it is depressurised for a short period as part of a Shuttle systems test

2001 Mar 14

06:00

Susan Helms' contoured seat is fitted inside Soyuz TM-31 and she exchanges places with Bill Shepherd - the crew exchange is complete but Shepherd remains commander of the ISS for the time being

2001 Mar 15

-

Discovery's manoeuvring engines are fired repeatedly over a period of fifty minutes in order to raise the ISS orbit to 372 x 389 kilometres - this re-boost is 24 hours earlier than planned due to a need to move the ISS away from the orbit taken up by a 5 kg foot restraint which floated out of the cargo bay during the space walk 2000 March 11

2001 Mar 16

-

For a second time, Discovery's manoeuvring engines are fired repeatedly over a period of one hour - this raises the ISS orbit to 377 x 390 kilometres

2001 Mar 18

10:40

Using the RMS, Thomas detaches Leonardo from Unity - the event has been delayed four hours due to the crew having to check for air leaks around Unity's hatch

2001 Mar 18

12:08

Leonardo is locked down in Discovery's cargo bay

2001 Mar 12

06:02

Leonardo is firmly connected to Unity's downward-facing Common Berthing Mechanism

2001 Mar 19

02:32

The hatches between Discovery and the ISS are closed - Yuri Usachev, Expedition 2 commander is now in charge of the ISS

2001 Mar 19

04:32

Discovery undocks from the International Space Station and conducts a fly-around inspection before moving away - Yuri Usachev, Expedition 2 commander is now in charge of the ISS

2001 Mar 21

06:26

Discovery fires its OMS engines to initiate re-entry

2001 Mar 21

07:31

Discovery lands on the Edward Air Force Base Runway

2001 Mar 21

07:32

Wheel stop - Discovery's mission is over and the ISS crew exchange between Expedition 1 and Expedition 2 has been completed

2001 Apr 4

-

The thrusters of Progress M-44 are fired briefly under control of Zvezda's computers as a test

2001 Apr 16

08:48

Progress M-44 undocks from Zarya and moves away from the ISS

2001 Apr 16

13:23

Progress M-44 fires its rocket engine, re-enters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up as a result of frictional heating

2001 Apr 18

12:40

Soyuz TM-31 undocks from the downward-facing port of Zvezda with the Shepherd, Gidzenko and Krikalev aboard

2001 Apr 18

13:01

Soyuz TM-31 docks with the aft port on Zarya - this leaves clearance for the upcoming STS-100 crew to dock the Raffaello logistics module

2001 Apr 19

18:40

Space Shuttle Endeavour launched from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-100 into orbit of  200 x 317 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination with crew consisting of Capt Kent V Rominger, USN (commander), Capt Jeffrey S Ashby, USN (pilot), and mission specialists Col Chris Hadfield, Canadian Air Force, Dr John L Phillips, Dr Scott Parazynski, Dr Umbert Guidoni, ESA, and Lt-Col Yuri V Lonchakov, Russian Air Force - as passengers

2001 Apr 21

01:59

Endeavour docks with PMA-2 on the forward-facing end of the Destiny module - orbit is 371 x 381 kilometres

2001 Apr 22

11:45

Parazynski and Hadfield start a space walk to install a new UHF antenna on the outside of Destiny and to begin the transfer of the Canadarm-2 robotic arm from Endeavour to the ISS - after the arm is extended from its mounting point on Endeavour and clamped to a cradle on the outside of Destiny, they connect power and control cables to the ISS end of the arm

2001 Apr 22

18:53

On board the ISS, Voss and Helms conduct the first test of the Station's new robotic arm by moving it slightly under remote control

2001 Apr 22

18:55

Parazynski and Hadfield complete their space walk after 7 hrs 10 min

2001 Apr 23

09:25

The hatches between Endeavour and Unity are opened and the visiting and residential crews meet for the first time

2001 Apr 23

11:13

One end of Canadarm-2 is moved from it's pallet aboard Endeavour

2001 Apr 23

14:16

The free end of Canadarm-2 is attached to a power and data hookup point on Unity

2001 Apr 23

14:58

Using the Shuttle RMS, Parazynski lifts Raffaello from Discovery's cargo bay

2001 Apr 23

16:00

Raffaello logistics module is firmly connected to Destiny's downward-facing Common Berthing Mechanism, having been lifted out of Endeavour's cargo by by the Shuttle's robot arm

2001 Apr 23

-

ISS orbit is 374 x 391 kilometres - a series of thruster firings by Endeavour over a one hour period raises it to 377 x 395 kilometres

2001 Apr 23

19:26

The hatches between Endeavour and Unity are closed to allow the internal pressure of the Orbiter to be lowered in preparation for a second space walk

2001 Apr 24

-

The crew of the ISS starts moving equipment from Rafaello into Destiny

2001 Apr 24

12:34

Parazynski and Hadfield start a space walk to complete electrical connections on the Canadarm-2, remove an aerial from the Early Communications System and move some other equipment - during the operation a cover from an electrical box is lost when it drifts away from Hadfield and lodges on the outside of the station (subsequently retrieved 2001 Dec 10 during the STS-108 mission)

2001 Apr 24

20:15

Parazynski and Hadfield complete their space walk after 7 hrs 40 min

2001 Apr 24

-

Mission planners decide that a third scheduled space walk on April 26 will not be needed

2001 Apr 24

22:15

Endeavour's crew returns to the ISS

2001 Apr 24

-

After he crew has retired for the night, Mission Control detects that one of the Station's command and control computers has gone offline

2001 Apr 25

-

The ISS crew and Mission Control work on the computer problem - planned work with the new robot arm is postponed until April 26

2001 Apr 26

07:00

Soyuz TM-32 and its launching rocket are transferred from the assembly building to the launch pad

2001 Apr 26

08:45

The ISS command and control computer is back on line

2001 Apr 26

-

Mission planners decide to extend Endeavour's docked time with the ISS by two days to 30 April - Russia refuses a corresponding delay in the upcoming Soyuz TM-32 launch - NASA aims for a departure on April 29 but Russia agrees that the Soyuz TM-32 docking can be delayed if necessary

2001 Apr 27

19:30

A second series of thruster firings by Endeavour results in an orbit of 381 x 404 kilometres - the firing was over a longer period than originally planned due to postponement of thruster firings on Apr 25 following the computer problem

2001 Apr 27

20:03

Using the Shuttle RMS, Raffaello is detached from Unity

2001 Apr 27

20:59

Raffaello is locked down in Endeavour's cargo bay

2001 Apr 28

07:37

Soyuz TM-32 spacecraft launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome by Soyuz-U rocket, carrying a Soyuz "Taxi" crew consisting of Talbat Musabeyev (commander), Yuri Baturin (Flight Engineer), and Dennis Tito (private US citizen) into an orbit of 182 x 231 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination

2001 Apr 28

14:30

Soyuz TM-32 orbit is 254 x 326 kilometres

2001 Apr 28

20:44

The ISS Canadarm-2 is used in a joint test with the Canadarm installed on Endeavour - Endeavour's arm lifts a Spacelab pallet out of the cargo bay and passes it to the arm on the space station

2001 Apr 28

21:02

The ISS arm passes the Spacelab pallet back to Endeavour's arm which then re-berths it in the cargo bay

2001 Apr 29

14:41

Hatches between the ISS and Endeavour are closed for the last time on mission STS-100

2001 Apr 29

17:34

Endeavour undocks from the International Space Station and conducts a fly-around inspection and films the Station using an IMAX camera

2001 Apr 29

18:28

A short firing of Endeavour's thrusters causes it to move away from the ISS

2001 Apr 30

07:58

Soyuz TM-32 docks with the downward-facing docking port on Zarya - orbit is 381 x 403 kilometres

2001 Apr 30

-

The Soyuz TM-32 crew switches the contoured couches between their vehicle and Soyuz TM-31 - Soyuz TM-32 is now the Station's operational emergency return vehicle

2001 May 1

-

Two landing opportunities for Endeavour at the Kennedy Space Center are waved off due to weather, controllers decide to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California

2001 May 1

15:02

Endeavour fires its OMS engines to initiate re-entry

2001 May 1

16:10

Endeavour lands on the Edward Air Force Base Runway

2001 May 1

16:11

Wheel stop - Endeavour's mission is over

2001 May 6

02:21

Soyuz TM-31 undocks from the ISS with Musabeyev, Baturin and Tito aboard - ISS orbit is 379 x 402 kilometres

2001 May 6

04:47

Soyuz TM-31 fires its retro rockets to initiate re-entry

2001 May 6

05:41

Soyuz TM-31 lands in an area north-north-east of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan

2001 May 9

-

Endeavour begins a flight from Edwards Air Force Base to the Kennedy Space Centre attached to NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA)

2001 May 10

-

The ISS crew starts its first weekly check of the operation of Canadarm-2

2001 May 20

21:32

Progress M1-6 cargo supply ship launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome Launch Complex 1 by Soyuz-FG rocket into orbit of 188 x 218 kilometres - it carries 1.3 tonnes of cargo and 1.2 tonnes of propellant (900 kg of which is for replenishing Zvezda's tanks)

2001 May 21

06:30

Progress M1-6 orbit is 270 x 317 kilometres

2001 May 23

00:23

Under the control of Mission Control Centre - Moscow, Progress M1-6 docks with the rear-facing port of Zvezda, recently cleared by the departure of Soyuz TM-31 - ISS orbit is 374 x 398 kilometres

2001 May 30

-

NASA announces that the next Shuttle Mission (STS-104) has been potponed from June 14 to July 7 in order to allow trouble-shooting on Canadarm-2 to be completed

2001 Jun 8

13:21

Usachev and Voss start a space walk "inside" Zvezda's multi-way docking unit - they remove the flat-faced hatch on the downward facing docking port and replace it with the conical hatch removed from the forward port after docking with Zarya - the downward-facing port can now be used for docking the "Pirs" joint airlock and docking compartment

2001 Jun 8

14:07

Usachev and Vosss seal Zvezda's external hatch and complete their space walk after 19 minutes (half the planned time)

2001 Jul 12

-

Progress M-SO1 shipped from Moscow to Baikonur ready for launching the "Pirs" airlock/docking unit to the ISS

2001 Jul 12

09:03

Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-104 into orbit of  157 x 235 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination with crew consisting of Lt-Col Steven W Lindsey, USAF (commander), Major Charles O Hobaugh USMC (pilot), and mission specialists Dr Michael L Gernhardt, Dr Janet L Kavandi and Dr James F Reilly

2001 Jul 13

06:00

Atlantis orbit is 237 x 307 kilometres

2001 Jul 14

03:08

Atlantis docks with PMA-2 on the forward-facing end of Destiny - orbit is 367 x 389 kilometres

2001 Jul 15

03:10

Gernhardt and Reilly begin a space walk from Atlantis to remove an insulation cover from the Quest airlock - berthed in the Atlantis cargo bay - and to attach external fitting for later location of air tanks

2001 Jul 15

05:10

Under the control of Susan Helms aboard the ISS, the Station's remote manipulator arm is used to lift Quest from the Atlantis cargo bay

2004 Jul 15

07:40

Quest is attached to Destiny's downward-facing Common Berthing Mechanism - Gernhardt and Reilly then make power connections for Quest's heating system

2001 Jul 15

09:09

Gernhardt and Reilly complete their space walk after 5 hrs 59 min

2001 Jul 5

-

Crew of the ISS enters Quest for the first time, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and starts work on its internal activation

2001 Jul 16

-

Hatches between Atlantis and the ISS are open for a period to allow joint work between the crews

2001 Jul 17

-

A series of thruster firings by Atlantis over a one hour period raises the orbit to 372 x 390 kilometres

2001 Jul 18

03:04

After a half hour delay due to a computer glitch with the ISS command and control system, Gernhardt and Reilly begin a second space walk from Atlantis to oversee attachment of oxygen and nitrogen tanks to Quest - two oxygen tanks and one nitrogen tank were moved using the Station's Canadarm-2 remote manipulator

2001 Jul 18

09:33

Gernhardt and Reilly complete their space walk after 6 hrs 29 min

2001 Jul 18

-

Mission managers decide to extend Atlantis's stay with the Iss by one day in order to catch up some lost time caused by a water leak in Quest

2001 Jul 18

-

A second series of thruster firings by Atlantis raises the orbit to 381 x 397 kilometres

2001 Jul 21

04:35

Gernhardt and Reilly begin their third space walk, using the Quest airlock for the first ever direct exit from the ISS, to attach the last of two nitrogen tanks to quest, assisted by Canadarm-2 - they also checked out a connection on the Truss holding the solar arrays but failed to find the cause of unusual power readings

2001 Jul 21

08:37

Gernhardt and Reilly complete their space walk after 4 hrs 2 min

2001 Jul 22

02:00

Hatches between the ISS and Atlantis are closed

2001 Jul 22

04:54

Atlantis undocks from the ISS and begins a fly-round

2001 Jul 22

06:14

A short firing of Atlantis's thrusters causes it to move away from the ISS

2001 Jul 22

-

The first in a series of short firings of the Progress M-32 thrusters is used to make a minor adjustment of the inclination of the ISS orbit

2001 Jul 24

-

Two landing opportunities for Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center are waved off due to weather

2001 Jul 25

02:32

Atlantis fires its OMS engines to initiate re-entry

2001 Jul 25

03:38

Atlantis lands on the Kennedy Space Center Runway

2001 Jul 25

03:39

Wheel stop - Atlantis's mission is over

2001 Aug 10

21:10

Space Shuttle Discovery launched from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-105 into orbit of 155 x 233 kilometres at 51.6 degrees inclination with crew consisting of Col Scott J Horowitz, USAF (commander), Lt-Col Frederick W Sturchow, USMC  (pilot), mission specialists Dr Daniel T Barry and Lt-Col Patrick G Forrester, USN - Discovery also carries the ISS Expedition 3 crew consisting of Capt Frank L Culbertson USN rt'd (station commander), Lt-Col Vladimir Dezhurov, Russian Air Force and Mikhail Tyurin of Rosaviakosmos

2001 Aug 12

18:42

Discovery docks with PMA-2 on the forward-facing end of Destiny while over the Indian Ocean - orbit is 384 x 399 kilometres

2001 Aug 12

19:05

After a short delay due to a problem with the docking mechanism, Discovery is properly connected to the ISS

2001 Aug 12

20:41

The hatch between Discovery and the ISS is opened

2001 Aug 13

15:55

Logistics module Leonardo is attached to the downward-facing common berthing mechanism on Destiny after it has been lifted out of the Discovery cargo bay using Discovery's manipulator arm

2001 Aug 13

18:47

Hatches between Destiny and Leonardo are opened

2001 Aug 13

19:13

The crew completes transfer of the Expedition 3 contoured seats into Soyuz TM-32, the Station is then officially "handed over" to Expedition 3

2001 Aug 14

-

The crew works on unloading Leonardo and uploading new software into Zvezda's computer system

2001 Aug 14

-

A series of thruster firings by Discovery raises the ISS orbit by 3 kilometres

2001 Aug 15

21:52

Hatches between Discovery and the ISS are closed in order to lower the air pressure inside the Shuttle prior to a space walk

2001 Aug 15

12:10

The Expedition 3 crew delivers speeches to commemorate Zarya's 1000th day in orbit

2001 Aug 15

13:56

Barry and Forrester start a space walk to attach an ammonium coolant reservoir the Station's cooling systems to the ISS hull, and to attach an experiment containing 750 material samples for studying the effects of long exposure to space

2001 Aug 15

20:12

Barry & Forrester complete their space walk after 6 hrs 16 min

2001 Aug 17

-

A series of thruster firings by Discovery over a one hour period raises the ISS orbit further - it is now 391 x 402 kilometres

2001 Aug 18

13:42

Barry and Forrester start a space walk to lay out heater cables and install handrails on the outside of Destiny - this in preparation for installation of a new truss on a later mission

2001 Aug 18

19:11

Barry & Forrester complete their space walk after 5 hrs 29 min

2001 Aug 19

19:15

Leonardo is returned to Discovery's cargo bay after being lifted away from Destiny using the Shuttle's remote manipulator arm

2001 Aug 19

01:00

Progress M-45 and its launching rocket are rolled-out to the launch pad at Baikonur

2001 Aug 20

12:00

Hatches between Discovery and the ISS are closed

2001 Aug 20

14:52

Discovery undocks from the ISS and begins a fly-round

2001 Aug 20

18:29

A "Getaway Special" payload - Simplesat is deployed from Discovery's cargo bay - its purpose is to demonstrate Global Positioning System attitude control and pointing in free flight

2001 Aug 22

17:15

Discovery fires its OMS engines to initiate re-entry

2001 Aug 22

18:22

Discovery lands on the Kennedy Space Center runway

2001 Aug 22

18:23

Wheel stop - Discovery's mission is over and the ISS crew exchange between Expedition 2 and Expedition 3 has been completed

 

Expedition 1

ISS Index

Expedition 3