Expedition 7

Mission objectives

The seventh crew to live aboard the International Space Station launched on April 25, 2003, aboard Soyuz TMA-2 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After docking three days later, they assumed command of the station. Because the Space Shuttle fleet was grounded following the Columbia disaster, the crew was limited to two people instead of the usual three. The mission ended on October 27, 2003, when the Expedition 7 crew and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque landed in Kazakhstan after undocking from the station.

With only two crew members, the scientific workload was reduced. The team carried out just 15 experiments during their stay. They also handled regular station maintenance and practiced for spacewalks, though none were actually scheduled. Cargo deliveries arrived via two Progress spacecraft: M1-10 in June and M-48 in August.

On October 15, 2003, Mission Control in Houston informed Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Science Officer Edward Lu that China had launched its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. The news was relayed by spacecraft communicator Mike Fossum, who noted that a new nation had joined the spacefaring community. Lu responded with congratulations, saying that more people in space benefits everyone, and added a welcome in Chinese. Malenchenko joked that he was glad to have someone else in space besides himself and Lu, and extended his congratulations to the people of China.

Malenchenko and Lu had previously flown together on the STS-106 shuttle mission, during which they performed a spacewalk.