Expedition 50

Expedition 50 was the 50th expedition to the International Space Station.

Expedition 50

Promotional Poster
Mission type	Long-duration expedition
Expedition
Space station	International Space Station
Began	30 October 2016 (2016-10-30Z) UTC[1]
Ended	10 April 2017 (2017-04-11Z) UTC
Arrived aboard	Soyuz MS-02 Soyuz MS-03
Departed aboard	Soyuz MS-02 Soyuz MS-03 Soyuz MS-04
Crew
Crew size	6
Members	Expedition 49/50: Robert S. Kimbrough Andrei Borisenko Sergey Ryzhikov Expedition 50/51: Oleg Novitsky Thomas Pesquet Expedition 50/51/52: Peggy Whitson
EVAs	4
EVA duration	26 hours 8 min
Expedition 50 mission patch (l-r) Borisenko, Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, Pesquet, Whitson, Novitsky ISS expeditions ← Expedition 49 Expedition 51 →

The ISS as seen from California transiting the Sun on December 17, 2016

HTV-6 grappled by the ISS robotic arm December 13, 2016

Expedition 50 crewmembers Pesquet (right) and Kimbrough (left) in the ISS Cupola, December 2016

Robert S. Kimbrough, Andrei Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov transferred from Expedition 49. Expedition 50 began upon the departure of Soyuz MS-01 on October 28,^[1] 2016 and was concluded upon the departure of Soyuz MS-02 on April 10, 2017. The crew of Soyuz MS-03 were transferred to Expedition 51.

After the launch of Soyuz MS-03, Peggy Whitson, at age 56, became the oldest woman to fly into space. By taking command of Expedition 51 on April 10, 2017, she also became the first woman to command two ISS expeditions (after Expedition 16 in 2007–2008).^[2][3] Soyuz MS-03 docked at the International Space Station on November 19, 2016, bringing the total number of people in the station to 6.^[4]

Crew

Position	First Part (October to November 2016)	Second Part (November 2016 to April 2017)
Commander	Robert S. Kimbrough, NASA Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1	Sergey Ryzhikov, RSA First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2	Andrei Borisenko, RSA Second and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer 3		Peggy Whitson, NASA Third (last NASA) spaceflight
Flight Engineer 4		Oleg Novitsky, RSA Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 5		Thomas Pesquet, ESA First spaceflight

Mission overview

Expedition 49/50 launch and docking

Main article: Soyuz MS-02

Soyuz MS-02 launched on October 19, 2016, transporting Robert S. Kimbrough, Andrei Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov, who would make up the Expedition 49/50 crew. MS-02 docked with the (Poisk (MRM-2) module on October 21, 2016.^[5]

Expedition 50/51 launch and docking

Main article: Soyuz MS-03

Soyuz MS-03 launched on November 17, 2016, transporting Oleg Novitskiy, Peggy Whitson and Thomas Pesquet.^[6] MS-03 docked with the Rassvet module on November 19, 2016.

Activities

On 25 December 2016 the crew celebrated Christmas by floating in micro-gravity and opening Christmas presents recently delivered on a Japanese cargo spacecraft.^[7] One astronaut wore a Santa hat in orbit.^[7] The French astronaut Pesquet shared special French food with the station crew.^[7][8] Pesquet also made a Christmas-time special video for the ESA.^[8]

The six-person Expedition 50 crew poses for a group portrait inside the Columbus lab module.
(Top row from left) Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson and Oleg Novitskiy.
(Bottom row from left) Andrey Borisenko, Kimbrough and Sergey Ryzhikov.

Science activities

Uncrewed spaceflights to the ISS

A number of resupply missions visited the International Space Station during Expedition 50.

Spacecraft - ISS flight number	Country	Mission	Launcher	Launch (UTC)	Docked/Berthed (UTC) †	Undocked/Unberthed (UTC)	Duration (Docked)	Deorbit
Cygnus CRS OA-5 - CRS OA-5	United States	Logistics	Antares 230	17 Oct 2016, 23:45:40	23 Oct 2016, 11:28	21 Nov 2016, 12:35	29d 1h 7m	27 Nov 2016, 23:36
Progress MS-04 - ISS-65P	Russia	Logistics	Soyuz-U	1 Dec 2016, 14:51:45	Spacecraft separated from third stage before reaching orbit; loss of mission
Kounotori 6 - HTV-6	Japan	Logistics	H-IIB	9 Dec 2016, 13:26:47	13 Dec 2016, 10:37	27 Jan 2017 15:45[9]	45d 5h 8m	5 February 2017, 15:06[10]
SpaceX CRS-10 - CRS SpX-10	United States	Logistics	Falcon 9	19 February 2017, 14:39:00	23 February 2017, 13:12	19 March 2017, 09:11	23d 19h 54m	19 March 2017, 14:00[11]
Progress MS-05 - ISS-66P	Russia	Logistics	Soyuz-U	22 February 2017 05:58:33[12][13]	24 February 2017, 08:34	20 Jul 2017, 17:46	146d 9h 16m	20 Jul 2017, 20:58

Spacewalks

EVA #	Spacewalkers	Start (UTC)	End (UTC)	Duration
EVA 1	Peggy Whitson Shane Kimbrough	January 6, 2017 11:23	January 6, 2017 17:55	6 hours 32 minutes
	Installed adapter plates and cables for new batteries on 3A power channel, pictures of AMS, removal of camera and routing of Ethernet cable.[14]
EVA 2	Shane Kimbrough Thomas Pesquet	January 13, 2017 11:22	January 13, 2017 17:20	5 hours 58 minutes
	Primary objectives: Retrieve Adapter Plate E and F from the Express Pallet (EP), Install Adapter Plate F in Slot 6, Relocate Battery 4 to Adapter Plate F, Install Adapter Plate E in Slot 4, Retrieve and Install Adapter Plate D in Slot 2, Fasten H1 Bolts on Li-Ion Batteries in Slots 1 and 5. Get-ahead tasks:Node 3 Shields Bundle #3 Temp Stow, Mobile Transporter Relay Assembly (MTRA) Camera Light Pan and Tilt Assembly (CLPA) Swap, Latching End Effector (LEE) A Worksite Interface Fixture (WIF) Adapter R&R, S0 aft to Z1 forward (Rat's Nest) Photo Mapping, Secure Solar Array Blanket Boxes (SABB) Restraints, Relocate Shields Bundle #2 to Node 3.[15]
EVA 3	Shane Kimbrough Thomas Pesquet	March 24, 2017 11:24	March 24, 2017 17:58	6 hours 34 minutes
	Prepare PMA for move, EXT-2 MDM removal & replace with new EPIC MDM, Camera Work, Lubricated Canadarm2 end effector and inspected a radiator value.[16]
EVA 4	Shane Kimbrough Peggy Whitson	March 30, 2017 12:29	March 30, 2017 19:33	7 hours 4 minutes
	EXT-1 MDM removal & replace with new EPIC MDM, Node 3 axial shields install including replacing a lost shield with the PMA-3 cover, PMA-3 cummerbunds install, PMA-3 cover removal, PMA-3 connections, close Node 3 port CDC, Inspection & cleaning of the Earth-facing berthing port of the Harmony module.

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• Christmas on the International Space Station