ISS: Expedition 18

Start vom Kosmodrom Baikonur (Michael Fincke und Juri Lontschakow mit Sojus TMA-13). Sandra Magnus kam mit STS-126 auf der Raumstation an (16. November 2008). Sie wurde am 17. März 2009 durch Koichi Wakata ersetzt, der die ISS mit STS-119 erreichte.

Bei der Mission STS-126 (ISS-ULF-2) wird das Logistikmodul (MPLM) Leonardo genutzt, um Fracht zur ISS zu bringen. Das Hauptaugenmerk liegt hierbei darin, die Station für die Unterstützung einer Langzeitbesatzung von sechs statt wie bisher drei Personen auszurüsten. Dazu werden unter anderem zwei weitere Schlafplätze, eine zusätzliche Galley, eine weitere Toilette und ein Trainingsgerät installiert. Bei insgesamt vier Weltraumausstiegen wurden unter anderem die defekten SARJ-Drehgelenke auf der ISS repariert. Des Weiteren wurde mit Hilfe eines speziellen Frachtträgers (LMC) eine Schlauchdrehkupplung zur ISS gebracht und ein leerer Stickstofftank zurück zur Erde transportiert. Außerdem wurde ein Kleinsatellit zum Test zweier neuer Typen von Solarzellen ausgesetzt.

Wichtigste Aufgabe der Mission STS-119 war das Liefern und Anbringen der S6-Gitterstruktur, mit der die Solarzellenausleger (Integrated Truss Structure) endgültig fertig gestellt sind. Dieses Gitterelement war das letzte der vier Solarmodulen, das montiert wurde. Eine weitere Aufgabe der Mannschaft war der Anschluss des Solarmoduls und der Batterien.

Die erste EVA durch Michael Fincke und Juri Lontschakow erfolgte am 23. Dezember 2008 (5h 38m) zum Anbringen und Bergen verschiedener russischer Experimente an bzw. von der Außenwand der Raumstation. Außerdem wurde eine Einheit zum Messen elektromagnetischer Kräfte, die auf die Station einwirken, wenn der Komplex sich in einer niedrigen Umlaufbahn um die Erde bewegt, angebracht.

Die zweite und letzte EVA dieser Expedition unternahmen Michael Fincke und Juri Lontschakow am 10. März 2009 (4h 49m) zur Installation von EXPOSE-R, eines europäischen Experiments zum Aussetzen von Samen und Sporen in den Weltraum.

Am 12. März 2009 wurde ein sich der Station annäherndes Trümmerteil zu spät entdeckt, um ein Ausweichmanöver durchzuführen. Die Besatzung bereitete daraufhin die Evakuierung der ISS vor. Um 16:35 UTC begaben sie sich in die Sojus, um im Notfall die Station innerhalb kürzester Zeit verlassen zu können. Ein Zusammenstoß fand jedoch nicht statt und die Raumfahrer konnten um 16:45 UTC ihre Arbeit wieder aufnehmen.

Während ihres Aufenthaltes an Bord der ISS führte die Crew der Expedition 18 folgende wissenschaftlichen Experimente durch (vollständige Auflistung):
3D-Space (Mental Representation of Spatial Cues During Space Flight),
ALTEA-Dosi (Anomalous Long Term Effects in Astronauts' - Dosimetry),
Antigen (Optimization of Heterological Expresssion in Yeasts-True Yeasts in Microgravity for Example Synthesis of the HBS Antigen of the Virus Hepatitis B),
ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station),
Aryl (Influencing Factors of Space Flight on Expression of Strains of Interleukin),
Bar (Choice and Development of Methods and Instruments to Detect the Location of a Loss of Pressurization of a Module on ISS),
BCAT-3-4-CP (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test - 3 and 4: Critical Point),
BCAT-4-Poly (Binodal Colloidal Aggregation Test - 4: Polydispersion),
Biodegradation (Initial stage of Biodegradation and Biodeterioration in Space),
Bioemulsia (Research and Development of a Self-Contained Reactor of the Shielded Type For Production of Biomass of Microorganisms and Biologically Active Substances),
Biorisk (Influence of Factors of the Space Environment on the Condition of the System of Microorganisms-Hosts Relating to the Problem of Environmental Safety of Flight Techniques and Planetary Quarantine),
Biotrek (Influence of the Flow of Heavily Charged Particles of Space Radiation on Gentic Properties of Cell Production),
Bisphosphonates (Bisphosphonates as a Countermeasure to Space Flight Induced Bone Loss),
BLT (Boundary Layer Transition, Detailed Test Objective 854),
BONEMAC (Differentiation of Bone Marrow Macrophages in Space),
Braslet (Validation of On-Orbit Methodology for the Assessment of Cardiac Function and Changes in the Circulating Volume Using Ultrasound and Braslet-M Occlusion Cuffs, SDTO 17011 U/R),
BTN-M1 (Examination of the Flow of High Speed and Thermal Neutrons),
Buzz Lightyear (Buzz Lightyear),
Caf (Crystalization of th Protein Caf1M and its Combination with the Terminal Peptide Caf1 as the Elements for the Development of a New Generation of Antimicrobial Medicinal Preparations and Components of Vaccines from Yeasts),
CCISS (Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS),
CEO (Crew Earth Observations),
CEO-IPY (Crew Earth Observations - International Polar Year),
Conjugation (Development of Methods for Designing New Recombinants Producing Strains of Bacteria in Space Flight),
CRE-1 (Component Repair Experiment - 1, SDTO 17012U),
CSI-02 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus Science Insert - 02: Silicate Garden, Seed Germination, Plant Cell Culture and Yeast),
CSI-03 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus Science Insert - 03: Spiders and Butterflies),
Diatomeya (Stability of Geographical Position and Configuration of Borders of Bioproductive Water Zones of the World Oceans, Observations by Orbition Station Crews),
DomeGene (Dome Gene Experiment),
DOSTEL (DOSimetry TELescopes),
Dykhanie (Regulation and Biomechanics of Respiration in Space Flight),
EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students),
EDOS (Early Detection of Osteoporosis in Space),
Ekon (Experimental Survey on Evaluating the Possibility of Using th Russian Segment of ISS for Environmental Inspection of Work Areas of Various Facilities (Features)),
ENose (JPL Electronic Nose),
Environmental Monitoring (Environmental Monitoring of the International Space Station),
EPO-Demos (Education Payload Operation - Demonstrations),
Expert (Investigation of Early Symptoms of Microdestruction of Structures and Instrument Modules in the Russian Segment of ISS),
Fizika-Obrazovanie (Educational Demonstration of Basic Physics Laws of Motion),
FLEX (Flame Extinguishment Experiment),
Geoflow-1 (Simulation of Geophysical Fluid Flow Under Microgravity-1),
Glidoproteid (Extraction and Investigation of surface glycoproteins E1-E2 Alphavirises on Earth and in Space),
Holter ECG (Digital Holter ECG),
Ice Crystal (Pattern Formation during Ice Crystal Growth),
Identifikatsia (Identification of the Sources of Dynamic Loads on ISS),
Impuls (Impulse),
Inflight Education Downlinks (International Space Station Inflight Education Downlinks),
InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions - 2),
Integrated Immune (Validation of Procedures for Monitoring Crewmember Immune Function),
Integrated Immune-SDBI (Validation of Procedures for Monitoring Crewmember Immune Function - Short Duration Biological Investigation),
Interleukin-K (Production of Hight Quality Crystals of Interleukin -1Alpha, -1Beta and Receptor of Antagonist of Interleukin-1),
ISS Acoustics (International Space Station Acoustic Measurement Program),
Izgib (Effect of Performance of Flight and Science Activities on the Function of On-Orbit Systems on ISS (Mathematical Model)),
JAXA-HDTV (Activation and Test Downlink of HDTV System),
JAXA EPO 1 (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Education Payload Observation 1),
Journals (Behavioral Issues Associated with isolation and Confinement: Review and Analysis of Astronaut Journals),
Kristallizator (Crystalization of Biological Macromolecules and Generation of Biocrystal Film in the Conditions of Microgravity),
Lactolen (Influence of Factors of Space Flight on Lactolen Producer Strains),
Lada-VPU-P3R (Validating Vegetable Production Unit (VPU) Plants, Protocols, Procedures and Requirements (P3R) Using Currently Existing Flight Resources),
LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System),
LOCAD-PTS-Exploration (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System - Exploration),
MAI-75 (Space Devices and Modern Technology for Personal Communication),
Marangoni-Exp (Chaos, Turbulence and its Transition Process in Marangoni Convection-Exp),
MATI-75 (Educational Demonstration of the Effects of Shape and Size on the Recovery of Precompressed Plastic Material),
Mimetik-K (Crystalization of antigen Binding Fragment of Monoclonalical Antibody to Glucosaminilmuramildepeptide),
MISSE-6A and 6B (Materials International Space Station Experiment - 6A and 6B),
MOP (Motion Perception: Vestibular Adaptation to G-Transitions),
Muscle (Study of Low Back Pain in Crewmembers During Space Flight),
NLP-Cells (National Laboratory Pathfinder - Cells),
NLP-Vaccine-Salmonella (National Laboratory Pathfinder - Vaccine - Salmonella),
Nutrition (Nutritional Status Assessment),
OChB (Influence of Factors of Space Flight on Superoxide Strain Producer),
ORZS (The Optimization of Root Zone Substrates (ORZS) for Reduced Gravity Experiments Program),
Otolith (Otolith Assessment During Postflight Re-adaptation),
Photosynth (PhotosynthTM Three-Dimensional Modeling of ISS Interior and Exterior),
Pilot (Individual Characteristics of Psychophysiological Regulatory Status and Reliaility of Professional Activities of Cosmonauts in Long Duration Space Flight),
Plasma-MKS (Plasma-ISS: Examination of Plasmic Environments on the External Surface of ISS Through the Characterization of Optical Radiance),
Plasma-Progress (Observation of the Reflective Characteristics of the Spacecraft Plasma Environment from On-Board Thruster Activity Using Ground-Based Instruments),
Plasma Crystal (Dusty and Liquid Plasma Crystals in Conditions of Microgravity),
Pneumocard (Examination of the Influencing Factors of Space Flight on Autonomic Regulation of Blood Circulation, Respiration and Cardiac Contractile Function in Long Duration Space Flight),
Polca (),
PSSC (Pico-Satellite Solar Cell Experiment),
Rastenia (Growth and Development of Higher Plants through Multiple Generations),
Relaksatia (Processes of Relaxation in the Ultraviolet Band Spectrum by High Velocity Interaction of Exhaust Products on ISS),
Repository (National Aeronautics and Space Administration Biological Specimen Repository),
ROALD (ROle of Apoptosis in Lymphocyte Depression),
Rusalka (Development of Methods to Determine the Carbon Dioxide and Methane (Greehouse Gases) Content in the Earths Atmosphere from On-Board ISS),
SEITE (Shuttle Exhaust Ion Turbulence Experiments),
SHERE (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment),
SIMPLEX (Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Localized Exhaust Experiments),
Sleep-Long (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure During Spaceflight-Long),
Sleep-Short (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy and Light Exposure During Spaceflight-Short),
SOLO (SOdium LOading in Microgravity),
Sonokard (Physiological Functions (cardio-respiratory) of Humans Using Contactless Methods During Sleep in Long Duration Space Flight),
SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites),
SPICE (Smoke Point In Co-flow Experiment),
Sreda (Examination of the Features of IS as an Environment for Conducting Research),
SSLM (Solid State Lighting Module, SDTO 15008U),
Stability (Stability of Pharmacotherapeutic and Nutritional Compounds),
SVS (CBC: Self-Propogating Hyperthermal Synthesis in Space),
Ten'-Mayak (Study of Transmit/Receive Radio Signal Conditions in the Russian Segment of ISS Using the World-Wide Ham Radio Network),
Tipologia (Study of the Typological Characteristis of ISS Crew Operators Activity at the Stages of Long Term Space Flight),
Uragan (Hurricane: Experimental Development of Groundbased System of Monitoring and Predicting the Progression of a Naturally Occurring Technogenic Catastrophe),
Vaktsina-K (Structural Study of Protein Candidats in a Vaccine for AIDS on Earth and in Space),
Vektor-T (Study of a High Precision System for Prediction Motion of ISS),
Visual Performance (Human Factors Assessment of Vibration Effects on Visual Performance During Launch),
Vsplesk (Burst: Monitoring of Seismic Effects - Bursts of High Energy Particles in Low Earth Space Region (Orbit)),
Zag (Ambiguous Tilt and Translation Motion Cues After Space Flight),
Zhenshen-2 (Study of the Development of Cell Cultures to Evaluate the Possibily of Increasing Biological Activity).