Expedition 50

Last updated
ISS Expedition 50
Expedition 50 crew poster.jpg
Promotional Poster
Mission typeISS Expedition
Expedition
Space station International Space Station
Began30 October 2016 (2016-10-30Z) UTC [1]
Ended10 April 2017 (2017-04-11Z) UTC
Arrived aboard Soyuz MS-02
Soyuz MS-03
Departed aboard Soyuz MS-02
Soyuz MS-03
Soyuz MS-04
Crew
Crew size6
MembersExpedition 49/50:
Robert S. Kimbrough
Andrei Borisenko
Sergey Ryzhikov
Expedition 50/51:
Oleg Novitsky
Thomas Pesquet
Expedition 50/51/52:
Peggy Whitson
EVAs 4
EVA duration26 hours 8 min
ISS Expedition 50 Patch.png
Expedition 50 mission patch
Expedition 50 crew portrait.jpg
(l-r) Borisenko, Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, Pesquet, Whitson, Novitsky 
The ISS as seen from California transiting the Sun on December 17, 2016 ISS Solar Transit (NHQ201612170023).jpg
The ISS as seen from California transiting the Sun on December 17, 2016
HTV-6 grappled by the ISS robotic arm December 13, 2016 HTV-6 grappled by the International Space Station's robotic arm (1).jpg
HTV-6 grappled by the ISS robotic arm December 13, 2016
Expedition 50 crewmembers Pesquet (right) and Kimbrough (left) in the ISS Cupola, December 2016 ISS-50 Thomas Pesquet and Shane Kimbrough in the Cupola (1).jpg
Expedition 50 crewmembers Pesquet (right) and Kimbrough (left) in the ISS Cupola, December 2016

Expedition 50 was the 50th expedition to the International Space Station.

Contents

Robert S. Kimbrough, Andrei Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov transferred from Expedition 49. Expedition 50 began upon the departure of Soyuz MS-01 on October 28, [1] 2016 and was concluded upon the departure of Soyuz MS-02 on April 10, 2017. The crew of Soyuz MS-03 were transferred to Expedition 51.

After the launch of Soyuz MS-03, Peggy Whitson, at age 56, became the oldest woman to fly into space. By taking command of Expedition 51 on April 10, 2017, she also became the first woman to command two ISS expeditions (after Expedition 16 in 2007–2008). [2] [3] Soyuz MS-03 docked at the International Space Station on November 19, 2016, bringing the total number of people in the station to 6. [4]

Crew

PositionFirst Part
(October to November 2016)
Second Part
(November 2016 to April 2017)
Commander Flag of the United States.svg Robert S. Kimbrough, NASA
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1 Flag of Russia.svg Sergey Ryzhikov, RSA
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2 Flag of Russia.svg Andrei Borisenko, RSA
Second and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer 3 Flag of the United States.svg Peggy Whitson, NASA
Third (last NASA) spaceflight
Flight Engineer 4 Flag of Russia.svg Oleg Novitsky, RSA
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 5 Flag of France.svg Thomas Pesquet, ESA
First spaceflight

Mission overview

Expedition 49/50 launch and docking

Soyuz MS-02 launched on October 19, 2016, transporting Robert S. Kimbrough, Andrei Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov, who would make up the Expedition 49/50 crew. MS-02 docked with the (Poisk (MRM-2) module on October 21, 2016. [5]

Expedition 50/51 launch and docking

Soyuz MS-03 launched on November 17, 2016, transporting Oleg Novitskiy, Peggy Whitson and Thomas Pesquet. [6] MS-03 docked with the Rassvet module on November 19, 2016.

Activities

On 25 December 2016 the crew celebrated Christmas by floating in micro-gravity and opening Christmas presents recently delivered on a Japanese cargo spacecraft. [7] One astronaut wore a Santa hat in orbit. [7] The French astronaut Pesquet shared special French food with the station crew. [7] [8] Pesquet also made a Christmas-time special video for the ESA. [8]

The six-person Expedition 50 crew poses for a group portrait inside the Columbus lab module.
(Top row from left) Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson and Oleg Novitskiy.
(Bottom row from left) Andrey Borisenko, Kimbrough and Sergey Ryzhikov. Expedition50 Columbuslab.jpg
The six-person Expedition 50 crew poses for a group portrait inside the Columbus lab module.
(Top row from left) Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson and Oleg Novitskiy.
(Bottom row from left) Andrey Borisenko, Kimbrough and Sergey Ryzhikov.

Science activities

Uncrewed spaceflights to the ISS

A number of resupply missions visited the International Space Station during Expedition 50.

Spacecraft
- ISS flight number
CountryMissionLauncherLaunch
(UTC)
Docked/Berthed
(UTC)
Undocked/Unberthed
(UTC)
Duration (Docked)Deorbit
Cygnus CRS OA-5
- CRS OA-5
Flag of the United States.svg  United States LogisticsAntares 23017 Oct 2016, 23:45:4023 Oct 2016, 11:2821 Nov 2016, 12:3529d 1h 7m27 Nov 2016, 23:36
Progress MS-04
- ISS-65P
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia LogisticsSoyuz-U1 Dec 2016, 14:51:45Spacecraft separated from third stage before reaching orbit; loss of mission
Kounotori 6
- HTV-6
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan LogisticsH-IIB9 Dec 2016, 13:26:4713 Dec 2016, 10:3727 Jan 2017 15:45 [9] 45d 5h 8m5 February 2017, 15:06 [10]
SpaceX CRS-10
- CRS SpX-10
Flag of the United States.svg  United States LogisticsFalcon 919 February 2017, 14:39:0023 February 2017, 13:1219 March 2017, 09:1123d 19h 54m19 March 2017, 14:00 [11]
Progress MS-05
- ISS-66P
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia LogisticsSoyuz-U22 February 2017 05:58:33 [12] [13] 24 February 2017, 08:3420 Jul 2017, 17:46146d 9h 16m20 Jul 2017, 20:58

Spacewalks

EVA #SpacewalkersStart (UTC)End (UTC)Duration
EVA 1
Flag of the United States.svg Peggy Whitson
Flag of the United States.svg Shane Kimbrough
January 6, 2017
11:23
January 6, 2017
17:55
6 hours 32 minutes
Installed adapter plates and cables for new batteries on 3A power channel, pictures of AMS, removal of camera and routing of Ethernet cable. [14]
EVA 2
Flag of the United States.svg Shane Kimbrough
Flag of France.svg Thomas Pesquet
January 13, 2017
11:22
January 13, 2017
17:20
5 hours 58 minutes
Primary objectives: Retrieve Adapter Plate E and F from the Express Pallet (EP), Install Adapter Plate F in Slot 6, Relocate Battery 4 to Adapter Plate F, Install Adapter Plate E in Slot 4, Retrieve and Install Adapter Plate D in Slot 2, Fasten H1 Bolts on Li-Ion Batteries in Slots 1 and 5.

Get-ahead tasks:Node 3 Shields Bundle #3 Temp Stow, Mobile Transporter Relay Assembly (MTRA) Camera Light Pan and Tilt Assembly (CLPA) Swap, Latching End Effector (LEE) A Worksite Interface Fixture (WIF) Adapter R&R, S0 aft to Z1 forward (Rat's Nest) Photo Mapping, Secure Solar Array Blanket Boxes (SABB) Restraints, Relocate Shields Bundle #2 to Node 3. [15]

EVA 3
Flag of the United States.svg Shane Kimbrough
Flag of France.svg Thomas Pesquet
March 24, 2017
11:24
March 24, 2017
17:58
6 hours 34 minutes
Prepare PMA for move, EXT-2 MDM removal & replace with new EPIC MDM, Camera Work, Lubricated Canadarm2 end effector and inspected a radiator value. [16]
EVA 4
Flag of the United States.svg Shane Kimbrough
Flag of the United States.svg Peggy Whitson
March 30, 2017
12:29
March 30, 2017
19:33
7 hours 4 minutes
EXT-1 MDM removal & replace with new EPIC MDM, Node 3 axial shields install including replacing a lost shield with the PMA-3 cover, PMA-3 cummerbunds install, PMA-3 cover removal, PMA-3 connections, close Node 3 port CDC, Inspection & cleaning of the Earth-facing berthing port of the Harmony module.

See also

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References

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  14. Pete Harding (2017-01-13). "EVA-39: Spacewalkers complete the upgrading of ISS batteries". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
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