Spaceflight Now STS-108


Departing station crew eager for home, 'cold beer'
BY WILLIAM HARWOOD
STORY WRITTEN FOR THE CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION
Posted: December 11, 2001

The departing crew of the international space station said Tuesday they're looking forward to hot showers and reunions with friends and family members after four long months in orbit. American commander Frank Culbertson said he's looking forward to a bowl of ice cream. For Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, "a big glass of cold beer would be fine."

"I'm very proud of what we've accomplished," Culbertson told reporters Tuesday during an orbital news conference. "We accomplished all the tasks that were given to us, the big ones and the little ones. We probably did even a little bit more than people expected us to in some areas. So I'm very happy with what we've achieved, I'm very happy with the state of the station at this point and I'm very proud to be turning it over to Expedition 4."

NASA's mission management team, meanwhile, met Tuesday morning and officially approved a one-day extension for the shuttle Endeavour's mission. The additional day will be inserted in the crew's flight plan Wednesday and activities originally planned for Wednesday through the end of the mission will slip one day to the right.

Culbertson, Tyurin and Vladimir Dezhurov were launched to the station in August to become the lab's third full-time crew. When they return to Earth aboard shuttle Endeavour on Monday, they will have logged 129 days off the planet. While an official change-of-command ceremony will be held Thursday, Culbertson and his crewmates have officially joined Endeavour's crew, turning station operations over to Expedition 4 commander Yury Onufrienko, Daniel Bursch and Carl Walz.

Bursch and Walz both said they were amazed at the station's size and the pace of work aboard the outpost.

"The first impression I had was just how big it was," Bursch said. "It's massive and it's only partially built, which really amazes me. The other thing I found is there is a lot of work here. We've had 10 people here on board for several days already and everybody is very, very busy. So I imagine with only three people we've got our hands full."

Said Walz: "My impression again is just the size of the station. It's sort of like having your stateroom on one side of a football field and your office on the other and you're constantly running between - well, flying between - those two places. So it's a neat feeling. It just emphasizes the tremendous size of the station."

Endeavour is scheduled to undock from the space station Saturday morning. Bursch said watching the shuttle depart will be an emotional moment for the Expedition 4 crew. And for their departing crewmates.

"I'm certain there will be mixed feelings as we leave," Culbertson said. "This has been where we've lived and worked for four months and a very significant part of our lives, one of the most important things we'll remember in our lives probably.

"It's a very special experience to be able to do this, to have the honor to do this, to represent our countries and our programs. And we feel like we've accomplished a lot. So it will be hard to leave it. However we're leaving it in very capable hands and I have complete confidence they'll continue what we have done and improve on it."

But in the end, Culbertson said, "the most important thing is I feel very good, as do my crewmates, about going home to see our families and our friends and getting a chance to re-establish our lives on Earth. This has been great, but it's time to move on."

Onufrienko, Bursch and Walz will remain in orbit aboard the space station until next May when a fresh crew will be ferried up by the shuttle. In between, Onufrienko and his crewmates will help yet another shuttle crew continue the station's assembly in March and accept delivery of a fresh Soyuz lifeboat in April.

South African millionaire Mark Shuttleworth will join a Russian cosmonaut and a European Space Agency astronaut to deliver the new Soyuz and to take the station's current lifeboat back to Earth as it nears the end of its certified orbital lifetime. Shuttleworth is paying the Russians $25 million to become the second space tourist to visit the space station.

The first such tourist, American millionaire Dennis Tito, visited the station last April over NASA's strident objections. The U.S. space agency has since reached an agreement with the Russians on training and other issues and will no longer attempt to block such flights.

Maybe so. But Culbertson expressed reservations when asked about Shuttleworth's visit during Tuesday's news conference.

"The station's a working place and they're going to be extremely busy, the station is for workers," he said. "It puts an additional burden on the crew to have people up here that are not doing science or conducting experiments that are productive for the research effort of the station.

"I'm sure that whatever will be worked out will be worked out with the mutual consent of the partners and they'll do what they feel is best for the program. But this is a work place, a laboratory, a research facility."

For his part, Walz said having fresh faces on board will be a welcome change after five months in space, even if it means more work.

"As big as the station is, we only have one bathroom, for example, and one wash area, so that'll get crowded," he said. "But it's also nice to have visitors, too. It'll be about five months for us, it'll be nice to see new faces and talk to people.

"Dan and I have both had a chance to meet Mark Shuttleworth in Star City (near Moscow) and he's a very nice person," Walz said. "I think as long as the international partners work out the program, we'll do our best to be great hosts."

Women Astronauts
Learn about women astronauts,what they do, and how they got to where they are today. Read their story and how attitudes towards women in space changed.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

Apollo 12 tribute DVD set

New! Featuring the jovial crew of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 mission was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff but proceeded on the second successful exploration voyage to the lunar surface. This three-disc DVD brings the mission to life with extraordinary detail.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Fallen Heroes special patch
This special 12-inch embroidered patch commemorates the U.S. astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Women in Space
Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier is for girls, young women, and anyone else interested in learning about exciting careers in space exploration. Includes CD-ROM.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Mars rover poster
This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
 Choose your store:
U.S.

Apollo 11 special patch
Special collectors' patch marking the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing is now available.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K.

Phoenix mission patch
Ares patch
The Ares Project will develop two new rockets to launch astronauts back to the Moon under NASA's Vision for Exploration. The Ares 1 will employ a single space shuttle solid rocket booster to loft the Orion crew capsule. The gigantic Ares 5 will haul the equipment and cargo needed for such lunar voyages. This is the Ares emblem.
 U.S. STORE




Apollo patches
The Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price.
 U.S. STORE

Columbus mission patch
The official astronaut embroidered patch of Atlantis' STS-122 mission that launched the Columbus science lab in February is available to U.S. customers from our store.
 U.S. STORE

The ultimate Apollo 11 DVD
This exceptional chronicle of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission features new digital transfers of film and television coverage unmatched by any other.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Hubble Posters
Stunning posters featuring images from the Hubble Space Telescope and world-renowned astrophotographer David Malin are now available from the Astronomy Now Store.
 U.S. STORE
 U.K. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Get e-mail updates
Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop (privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose).
Enter your e-mail address:


INDEX | PLUS | NEWS ARCHIVE | LAUNCH SCHEDULE
ASTRONOMY NOW | STORE

ADVERTISE

© 2008 Pole Star Publications Ltd