ISS Expedition Crews Working Together

October 18, 2007

The Expedition 15 and 16 crews, along with spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, take a break from their activities to talk to the press. Credit: NASA TV

The newly arrived Expedition 16 crew members continue to familiarize themselves with life aboard the International Space Station as Expedition 15 nears the end of its mission.

Expedition 16 crew members Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Clay Anderson reviewed spacewalk hardware and systems in the Quest airlock Tuesday in preparation for the arrival of space shuttle Discovery next week and the upcoming spacewalks.

Whitson and Anderson also continued their review of the medical equipment aboard the station, checking out the defibrillator stowed onboard for emergencies.

Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko completed another session of shuttle photography training. The station crew will use digital cameras to take high-resolution images of space shuttle Discovery's thermal protection system when it approaches the station for docking later this month.

Whitson, Malenchenko and spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor arrived at the station aboard their Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft Friday, Oct 12.

The Expedition 15 crew, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov and Anderson, welcomed the new crew aboard the station when the hatches were opened at 12:22 p.m. Friday. Afterwards, Anderson, who joined Expedition 15 in June, became an Expedition 16 crew member when his seatliner was moved from the Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft to Soyuz TMA-11.

Both crews will work together until Oct. 21, when Yurchikhin, Kotov and Shukor depart aboard Soyuz TMA-10. Anderson will remain with Expedition 16 and return to Earth with the Discovery crew on the STS-120 mission.

Source: NASA