Expedition 70 was the 70th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station. The expedition began with the departure of Soyuz MS-23 on 27 September 2023[2][3][4] with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen taking over the ISS command from Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev in Expedition 69. It ended with the departure of NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara on Soyuz MS-24 on 6 April 2024.[5]
 Oleg Kononenko (orange t-shirt) along with his other Expedition 70 crew members (red t-shirts) and Axiom Mission 3 crew (black jumpsuits) | |
| Mission type | Long-duration mission to ISS |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA / Roscosmos |
| Mission duration | 191 days, 20 hours and 39 minutes |
| Expedition | |
| Space station | International Space Station |
| Began | 27 September 2023[1] |
| Ended | 6 April 2024 |
| Arrived aboard | Soyuz MS-24 SpaceX Crew-7 Soyuz MS-25 SpaceX Crew-8 |
| Departed aboard | Soyuz MS-24 SpaceX Crew-7 |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 7–11 |
| Members |
|
| EVAs | 2 |
| EVA duration | 14 hours 23 minutes |
 Expedition 70 mission patch  Expedition 70 crew portrait | |
Background, Crew and Events
editInitially, the expedition consisted of Andreas and his three SpaceX Crew-7 crewmates, Jasmin Moghbeli, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov from America, Japan, and Russia respectively, as well as Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko (who later assumed the ISS command) and Nikolai Chub (both on a year long ISS mission), and another American astronaut Loral O'Hara, who launched aboard Soyuz MS-24 on September 15, 2023 and were transferred from Expedition 69 alongside the SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts.[6]
However, even after several months of outfitting EVAs and RTOd heat radiator installation, six months later on 9 October 2023, the Nauka RTOd radiator malfunctioned before active use of Nauka (the purpose of RTOd installation is to radiate heat from Nauka experiments). The malfunction, a leak, rendered the RTOd radiator unusable for Nauka. This is the third ISS radiator leak after Soyuz MS-22 and Progress MS-21 radiator leaks. If a spare RTOd is not available, Nauka experiments will have to rely on Nauka's main launch radiator and the module could never be utilized to its full capacity.[7][8]
The crew was later replenished by subsequent crew rotation missions in the expedition, SpaceX Crew-8, consisting of American astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, and Soyuz MS-25, consisting of Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, Belarusian space tourist Marina Vasilevskaya, and American astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson.[5] Originally, the Boeing Starliner Crewed Flight Test was supposed to dock during the expedition. Instead, it was again moved farther down the vehicle schedule to May during Expedition 71.[9] The space station was also visited by a non-expedition crew, Axiom Mission 3, consisting of former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría (who previously commanded the station during Expedition 14), Italian astronaut Walter Villadei, ESA Swedish Project astronaut Marcus Wandt, and Turkish astronaut Alper Gezeravcı.
Events manifest
editPrevious mission: Expedition 69
27 September 2023 – Soyuz MS-23 Undocking, official switch from Expedition 69
9 October 2023 - Nauka outfitting RtoD Add-on Heat Radiator Leak Event
25/26 October 2023 – EVA 1 (VKD-61) Kononenko/Chub: 7 hrs, 41 min[10]
1 November 2023– EVA 2 (US-89) Moghbeli/O'Hara: 6 hrs, 42 mins[11]
11 November 2023– CRS SpX-29 Docking
29 November 2023 – Progress MS-23/84P Undocking
3 December 2023 – Progress MS-25/86P Docking
21 December 2023 – CRS SpX-29 Undocking
22 December 2023 – CRS Cygnus NG-19 Unberthing & Release
20 January 2024 – Axiom Mission 3 Docking (Non-Expedition crew)
1 February 2024 – CRS Cygnus NG-20 Capture & Berthing
7 February 2024 – Axiom Mission 3 Undocking (Non-Expedition crew)
13 February 2024 – Progress MS-24/85P Undocking
17 February 2024 – Progress MS-26/87P Docking[12]
5 March 2024 – SpaceX Crew-8 Docking[13]
10 March 2024 - ISS Expedition 70 Change of Command Ceremony from Andreas Mogensen to Oleg Kononenko
11 March 2024 – SpaceX Crew-7 Undocking
23 March 2024– CRS SpX-30 Docking
25 March 2024 – Soyuz MS-25 Docking (Expedition 70/71 & ISS EP-21)
29 March 2024 - Kononenko and Chub's seat liner moved from Soyuz MS-24 swapped with Novitsky and Vasilevskaya's seat liner moved from Soyuz MS-25 for MS-24 landing[14]
6 April 2024 – Soyuz MS-24 Undocking, official switch to Expedition 71
Next: Expedition 71
Crew
edit| Flight[5] | Astronaut | Increment 70a | Increment 70b | Increment 70c | Increment 70d |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Sep 2023 - 5 Mar 2024 | 5 - 11 Mar 2024 | 11 - 25 Mar 2024 | 25 Mar - 6 Apr 2024 | ||
| Soyuz MS-24 |  Oleg Kononenko, Roscosmos Fifth spaceflight | Flight Engineer | Commander[16] | ||
| Nikolai Chub, Roscosmos First spaceflight | Flight Engineer | ||||
 Loral O'Hara, NASA First spaceflight | Flight Engineer | ||||
| SpaceX Crew-7 | Jasmin Moghbeli, NASA First spaceflight | Flight Engineer | Off Station | ||
 Andreas Mogensen, ESA Second spaceflight | Commander | Off Station | |||
 Satoshi Furukawa, JAXA Second spaceflight | Flight Engineer | Off Station | |||
| Konstantin Borisov, Roscosmos First spaceflight | Flight Engineer | Off Station | |||
| SpaceX Crew-8 | Matthew Dominick, NASA First spaceflight | Off Station | Flight Engineer | ||
| Michael Barratt, NASA Third spaceflight | Off Station | Flight Engineer | |||
| Jeanette Epps, NASA First spaceflight | Off Station | Flight Engineer | |||
| Alexander Grebenkin, Roscosmos First spaceflight | Off Station | Flight Engineer | |||
| Soyuz MS-25 | Tracy Caldwell-Dyson, NASA Third spaceflight | Off Station | Flight Engineer | ||
Besides the expedition crew, Crew Dragon visited the station, carrying Axiom Mission 3, consisting of Michael López-Alegría of Axiom Space (formerly NASA), Walter Villadei of the Italian Ministry of Defence, Alper Gezeravcı of the Turkish Space Agency, and Marcus Wandt of the Swedish National Space Agency.[17]
The Soyuz MS-25 vehicle carried expedition member Tracy Caldwell-Dyson and visitors Oleg Novitsky of Roscosmos and Marina Vasilevskaya, a flight attendant trained by the Belarus Space Agency for ISS EP-21. One week after docking, Novitsky and Vasilevskaya returned with expedition member Loral O'Hara on the Soyuz MS-24 vehicle. Meanwhile, Kononenko and Chub, who launched on MS-24, will return on the MS-25 vehicle.[5]
Vehicle manifest
editFor the first time during 25 March-6 April 2024, all currently active ports of ISS were occupied, that too seven in number.[18]
| Vehicle[5] | Purpose | Port | Docking/Capture Date | Undocking Date (if during Expedition 70) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicles inherited from Expedition 69 | ||||
| Progress MS-23/84P | Russian Cargo | Poisk Zenith | 24 May 2023 | 29 Nov 2023 |
| CRS Cygnus NG-19 "Laurel Clark" | US Cargo | Unity Nadir | 4 Aug 2023 | 22 Dec 2023 |
| Progress MS-24/85P | Russian Cargo | Zvezda Aft | 25 Aug 2023 | 13 Feb 2024 |
| SpaceX Crew-7 "Endurance" | Exp. 69/70 USOS Crew | Harmony Zenith | 27 Aug 2023 | 11 Mar 2024 |
| Soyuz MS-24/70S "Antares" | Exp. 69/70 Russian Crew | Rassvet Nadir | 15 Sep 2023 | 6 Apr 2024 |
| Vehicles docked during Expedition 70 | ||||
| CRS Dragon SpX-29 | US Cargo | Harmony Forward | 11 Nov 2023 | 21 Dec 2023 |
| Progress MS-25/86P | Russian Cargo | Poisk Zenith | 3 Dec 2023 | 2024 (Exp. 71) |
| Axiom Mission 3 "Freedom" | Non-Expedition US Commercial Mission | Harmony Forward | 20 Jan 2024 | 7 Feb 2024 |
| CRS Cygnus NG-20 "Patricia "Patty" Hilliard Robertson" | US Cargo | Unity Nadir | 1 Feb 2024 | Jul 2024 (Exp. 71) |
| Progress MS-26/87P | Russian Cargo | Zvezda aft | 17 Feb 2024 | 2024 (Exp. 71) |
| SpaceX Crew-8 "Endeavour" | Exp. 70/71 USOS Crew | Harmony Forward | 5 Mar 2024 | Aug 2024 (Exp. 71) |
| CRS Dragon SpX-30 | US Cargo | Harmony Zenith | 23 Mar 2024 | 28 Apr 2024 (Exp. 71) |
| Soyuz MS-25/71S "Kazbek" | Exp. 70/71 Crew, Visiting Expedition 21 | Prichal nadir | 25 Mar 2024 | 24 Sep 2024 (Exp. 71) |
| Segment | US Orbital Segment | Russian Segment | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Harmony Forward | Harmony Zenith | Harmony Nadir | Unity Nadir | Rassvet Nadir | Prichal Nadir | Poisk Zenith | Zvezda Aft |
| 27 Sept 2023-11 Nov 2023 | Vacant | SpaceX Crew-7 | Vacant | Cygnus NG-19 | Soyuz MS-24/70S | Vacant | Progress MS-23/84P | Progress MS-24/85P |
| 11-29 Nov 2023 | CRS SpX-29 | |||||||
| 29 Nov 2023-3 Dec 2023 | Vacant | |||||||
| 3-21 Dec 2023 | Progress MS-25/86P | |||||||
| 21-22 Dec 2023 | Vacant | |||||||
| 22 Dec 2023-20 Jan 2024 | Vacant | |||||||
| 20 Jan-1 Feb 2024 | Axiom Mission 3 | |||||||
| 1-7 Feb 2024 | Cygnus NG-20 | |||||||
| 7-13 Feb 2024 | Vacant | |||||||
| 13-17 Feb 2024 | Vacant | |||||||
| 17 Feb-5 Mar 2024 | Progress MS-26/87P | |||||||
| 5-11 Mar 2024 | SpaceX Crew-8 | |||||||
| 11-23 Mar 2024 | Vacant | |||||||
| 23 Mar-25 Mar 2024 | CRS SpX-30 | |||||||
| 25 Mar-6 Apr 2024 | Soyuz MS-25/71S | |||||||
The Prichal aft, forward, starboard, and aft ports all have yet to be used since the module originally docked to the station, and are not included in the table.
References
edit- ^ Graf, Abby (27 September 2023). "Crewed Soyuz Spacecraft Undocking Live on NASA TV". blogs.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ Dinner, Josh (23 August 2023). "SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts will handle over 200 science experiments on ISS". Space.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ Evans, Ben (10 September 2023). "Better Late Than Never: New ISS Crew Prepares to Fly, All-Female EVAs Possible in October". AmericaSpace.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ Graf, Abby (27 September 2023). "Crewed Soyuz Spacecraft Undocking Live on NASA TV". blogs.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Complete ISS flight events". NasaSpaceFlight.com Forum. 15 April 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ Shipkenov, Maxim. "Soyuz MS-24 preps continue days before launch". ABS-CBN. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023.
- ^ Robinson-Smith, Will. "Russian space station laboratory module appears to spring coolant leak – Spaceflight Now". Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Госкорпорация «Роскосмос»". Telegram. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
- ^ Sturm, Karin (20 November 2023). "Stars aligning for Boeing crew launch in April". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ Pearlman, Robert Z. (26 October 2023). "Cosmonauts on ISS spacewalk encounter coolant 'blob' while inspecting leaky radiator". Space.com. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ Pearlman, Robert Z. (1 November 2023). "NASA astronauts complete 4th-ever all-female spacewalk outside International Space Station". Space.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Launch Schedule – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved 2023-02-23.
- ^ Finch, Joshua; Cheshier, Leah, eds. (17 January 2024). "NASA Sets Briefings for Crew-8, International Space Station Missions" (Press release). NASA. M24-006. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ "Preparations for landing Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft underway". eng.belta.by. 2024-03-29. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
- ^ "Microgravity Research Flights". Glenn Research Center. NASA. 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ Harwood, William (2024-03-11). "4 International Space Station crew members undock, head for Tuesday splashdown in Gulf of Mexico - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ Howell, Elizabeth (13 December 2023). "SpaceX to launch 3rd private astronaut mission to the ISS for Axiom Space on Jan. 9". Space.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ "Soyuz MS-25 Crew Hatch Opening and Welcome Remarks | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2024-03-25.