Endeavour (STS-100) launched 2001

STS-100 crew

Front row (L-R): Yury Lonchakov, Ken Rominger, Umberto Guidoni, Jeffrey Ashby, John Phillips

Back row (L-R): Scott Parazynski, Chris Hadfield

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-100), launched April 19, 2001, installed the Canadarm2 robotic arm on the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeffrey Ashby, Chris Hadfield (CSA), John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni (ESA), and Yury Lonchakov (Roscosmos).  

Parazynski and Hadfield conducted two EVAs for almost 15 hours.  

The crew returned to Earth May 1, 2001.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov!

Yury Lonchakov, born March 4, 1965 in Kazakhstan, is a veteran of three space flights.  His first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-100) as mission specialist in April-May 2001.  The objective of the mission was to install the Canadarm2 to the International Space Station.

His second trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-1 to the ISS.  He stayed aboard for almost 11 days before returning to Earth via Soyuz TM-34.

His third and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-13 as commander to the ISS.  He was part of the crew of Expedition 18.  He returned to Earth in April 2009.

Soyuz TMA-13 launched 2008

Soyuz TMA-13 crew (L-R): Richard Garriott, Yury Lonchakov, Michael Fincke

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-13, launched October 12, 2008 to the International Space Station, was the 100th manned Soyuz spacecraft.  Its crew consisted of Yury Lonchakov (Roscosmos), Michael Fincke (NASA) and Richard Garriott (space tourist).

Lonchakov and Fincke were the crew of Expedition 18 and remained on the ISS until April 2009.

Richard Garriott is the son of Skylab astronaut Owen Garriott.  Space tourist Charles Simonyi returned with Lonchakov and Fincke in April 2009.

Soyuz TMA-1 launched 2002

Soyuz TMA-1 crew (L-R): Frank de Winne, Sergei Zalyotin and Yuri Lonchakov

Soyuz TMA-1 mission patch

Soyuz TMA-1 was launched October 30, 2002 to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted  of Commander Sergei Zalyotin, Flight Engineer Frank De Winne (ESA) and Yury Lonchakov.  The crew returned on Soyuz TM-34, which landed November 10.

The landing crew consisted of Commander Nikolai Budarin, Kenneth Bowersox and Donald Pettit, who returned to Earth May 4, 2003.

Soyuz TMA-1 was in orbit when the Columbia disaster occurred, and that forced a change in how crews were changed out.  The Soyuz spacecraft became the sole method to exchange crews on the ISS until  the space shuttle program was reinstated in July 2005.