Expedition 12 (2005) was the 12th expedition to the International Space Station, launched from Kazakhstan using the Russian Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft. The crew landed back in Kazakhstan on 8 April 2006 with the addition of the first Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Pontes.

Expedition 12
Promotional poster
Mission typeLong-duration expedition
Mission duration187 days, 14 hours, 1 minute (at ISS)
189 days, 19 hours, 53 minutes (launch to landing)
Orbits completed2,987
Expedition
Space stationInternational Space Station
Began3 October 2005, 05:27 (2005-10-03UTC05:27Z) UTC
Ended8 April 2006, 19:28 (2006-04-08UTC19:29Z) UTC
Arrived aboardSoyuz TMA-7
Departed aboardSoyuz TMA-7
Crew
Crew size2
MembersWilliam S. McArthur
Valeri I. Tokarev
EVAs2
EVA duration11 hours, 5 minutes

Expedition 12 mission patch

William S. McArthur, Jr. (United States left), Valeri I. Tokarev (Russia right)

American entrepreneur Gregory Olsen was launched in the Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft and returned with Expedition 11 on Soyuz TMA-6 on 11 October 2005 thereby becoming the third space tourist.[1]

Crew

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Prime crew
Position Astronaut
Commander   William S. McArthur, NASA
Fourth and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1   Valeri I. Tokarev, RSA
Second and last spaceflight

Mission parameters

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Mission objectives

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Station assembly preparations, maintenance and science in microgravity.

Spacewalks

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There were two spacewalks outside the ISS during Expedition 12. MacArthur and Tokarev participated in both of them.

EVA 1

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The first EVA was on 7 November 2005 for 5 hours and 22 minutes. There were two main objectives, both of which were completed. The first was to install and set up a new camera on the P1 Truss which was later used in the installation of more truss segments. The second was to jettison the Floating Potential Probe which was a failed instrument, designed to measure the station's electrical potential and compare it to the surrounding plasma.[2]

EVA 2

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The second spacewalk took place on 3 February 2006 and lasted 5 hours and 43 minutes. The astronauts jettisoned an old Russian Orlan spacesuit, named SuitSat-1, that was equipped with a radio for broadcasts to students around the world. The suit reached the end of its operation life in 2004. They also retrieved the Biorisk experiment, photographed a sensor for a micrometeoroid experiment, and tied off the surviving umbilical of the mobile transporter.[3]

Solar eclipse

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Solar eclipse from space 29 Mar 2006

On 29 March 2006 a total solar eclipse took place, and the adjacent picture was taken by the Expedition 12 crew. It clearly shows the shadow of the Moon being cast on the Earth.

Concert

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While wake-up music is a tradition aboard space shuttle missions, the ISS crew generally use an alarm clock to wake up. Expedition 12 astronauts received a special treat on 3 November 2005 when Paul McCartney performed Good Day Sunshine and English Tea in a first ever concert linkup from the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California on his US tour. The event was broadcast live on NASA TV.[4]

References

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  This article incorporates public domain material from Expedition 12. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

  1. ^ BBC.news: Space tourist blasts off to ISS, accessed last 11 March 2011
  2. ^ "NASA: EVA 1 - Spacewalkers Install New Camera Assembly, Jettison FPP". Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2006.
  3. ^ "NASA: EVA 2 - Crew Back in Station After Spacewalk". Archived from the original on 20 October 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2006.
  4. ^ Fries, Colin (25 June 2007). "Chronology of Wakeup Calls" (PDF). NASA. p. 73. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2007. STS-5, STS-41-G
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