Expedition 3

Mission objectives

The third crew to live on the International Space Station took over the complex on 13 August 2001, having launched three days earlier on Space Shuttle Discovery during mission STS-105. Their 117-day stay was packed with scientific work and included four spacewalks. The team, led by American commander Frank Culbertson alongside Russian pilot Vladimir Dezhurov and flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin, saw the station grow and research expand. They ended their residency on 8 December 2001, transferring their custom Soyuz seat-liners to Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-108 return flight.

A highlight of their mission was the 2001 Leonid meteor storm on 18 November. Earth was predicted to pass through debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, with dust hitting the atmosphere at 144,000 mph to create meteors. Millions watched from the ground, but only the three astronauts saw it from above. Culbertson recalled looking down to see hundreds of meteors per minute beneath the station, describing them as resembling UFOs flying in formation.

News reports had warned sky watchers in advance of the event. The Expedition 3 crew was delivered by Discovery as part of STS-105 and returned home via STS-108.

Did You Know?

• The Expedition 3 mission patch depicts the book of space history turning from the chapter with Mir and the space shuttle to blank pages of the future.
• On 11 September 2001, the ISS passed over New York City and Culbertson photographed smoke clouds from the World Trade Center site.