DELTA Mission facts
Mission: Soyuz flight 8S to the International Space Station. The crew included Dutch ESA astronaut André Kuipers. During his stay on ISS André Kuipers worked on a substantial programme of experiments as well as educational and PR activities. The mission also served to exchange the permanent ISS crew; Expedition 9 flew to ISS, Expedition 8 returned to Earth together with Kuipers. Furthermore, the Soyuz, which serves as a rescue vehicle for the resident ISS crew in case of an onboard emergency, was replaced. The Soyuz needs to be replaced every six months.
Launch:
19 April 2004, 07:19 Moscow time (05:19 CEST, 03:19 UT)
Docking:
21 April 2004, 09:01 Moscow time (07:01 CEST, 05:01 UT)
Hatch opening and ingress:
21 April 2004, 10:27 Moscow time (08:27 CEST, 06:27 UT)
Hatch closure:
29 April 2004, 21:47 Moscow time (19:47 CEST, 17:47 UT)
Undocking:
30 April 2004, 00:52 Moscow time (29 April, 22:52 CEST, 20:52 UT)
Landing:
30 April 2004, 04:11 Moscow time (02:12 CEST; 00:12 UT)
Launch site:
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Landing site:
Kazakh Steppe, near town of Arkalyk
Launch vehicle
Soyuz TMA-4
Return vehicle
Soyuz TMA-3
Crew Soyuz 8S (up):
Commander Gannadi Padalka (Russia)
Flight Engineer André Kuipers (ESA)
Flight Engineer E. Michael Fincke (NASA)
Crew Soyuz 7S (down):
Commander Alexander Kaleri (Russia)
Flight Engineer André Kuipers (ESA)
Flight Engineer Michael Foale (NASA)
Back-up crew
Leroy Chiao (NASA)
Gerhard Thiele (ESA)
Salizhan S. Sharipov (Russia)