NASA Confirms ISS Crew Will Expand to Six in 2009

By Nancy Atkinson - October 15, 2008 at 4:34 PM UTC | Space Policy
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[/caption] A Russian official misspoke last weekend when he said the number of crew members on board the International Space Station probably wouldn't increase next year as planned. On Saturday, Roscosmos head Anatoly Perminov said, "I doubt that the ISS crew will be increased to six people from next year because the final decision has not been taken yet. All countries participating in the ISS program have to decide it." But today NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries said Perminov made a mistake. "There are no impediments for going forward with expanding the crew size from three to six," Humphries told Universe Today. The issue was also discussed during a press conference with the space station crew, including the newly arrived crew of three that launched on a Soyuz rocket on Sunday: U.S. astronaut Mike Fincke, Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov and U.S. space tourist Richard Garriott.

NASA and the international partners working together to construct the ISS want to increase the crew size in order to expand the capability to conduct research. But in order to boost the crew size, the station must be able to recycle condensation, cooling water and even urine to provide enough potable water for the astronauts, their experiments and the station's U.S. oxygen generator. Additional astronaut sleep stations, a second toilet (and repairing the one already on board) and a second galley also must be delivered, installed and checked out.

Fincke said the main mission during his Expedition 18 is to get the space station, currently sized for three people, up and running and ready to go for six people. "It's going to take a lot of work, but it's the next step in getting the space station fully operational. We've got the right team for it," he said. Fincke will take over as commander of the station on Oct. 22.

Sources:

UPI

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SpaceflightNow.com,

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com