STS-108 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour. Its primary objective was to deliver supplies to and help maintain the ISS.
STS-108 was the 12th shuttle flight to visit the International Space Station and the first since the installation of the Russian airlock called Pirs on the station. Endeavour delivered the Expedition 4 crew to the orbital outpost. The Expedition 3 crew returned to Earth on Endeavour.
While at the station, the crew conducted one spacewalk and attached the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the station so that about 2.7 metric tons (3 tons) of equipment and supplies could be unloaded. The crew later returned Raffaello to Endeavour's payload bay for the trip home.
The Station is shown viewed along the direction of flight as will be seen by the Shuttle crew during their final approach and docking along the X-axis. The three ribbons and stars on the left side of the patch signify the returning Expedition Three crew. The red, white and blue order of the ribbons represents the American commander for that mission. The three ribbons and stars on the right depict the arriving Expedition Four crew. The white, blue, red order of the Expedition Four ribbon matches the color of the Russian flag and signifies that the commander of Expedition Four is a Russian cosmonaut. Each white star in the center of the patch represents the four Endeavour crew members. The names of the four astronauts who will crew Endeavour are shown along the top border of the patch. The three astronauts and three cosmonauts of the two expedition crews are shown on the chevron at the bottom of the patch.
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