ISS Expeditions

Soyuz TMA-13M was a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 40 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-13M is the 122nd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since 1967, and the 39th Soyuz mission to the ISS. The Soyuz remained docked to the space station for the Expedition 41 increment to serve as an emergency escape vehicle until its departure in November 2014.

The Soyuz FG rocket carrying the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft was rolled to the launch pad at Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 26 May 2014. Under sunny skies, the roll out began at 7 o'clock in the morning. The rollout was attended by the Soyuz backup crew members, Anton Shkaplerov, Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts. The Soyuz TMA-13M prime crew was not at the event, since it is considered to bring bad luck. Once the 49.5 meter tall Soyuz FG rocket was erected in its vertical launch position, the launcher was enclosed by its service structure, to provide protection and access platforms for workers.

The Soyuz TMA-13M mission patch was designed by Luc van den Abeelen for TsPK/Spacepatches.nl and Roscosmos. The patch is centred around the main image of a famous Baikonur monument, known as 'the fisherman'. The cosmonaut is shown floating over a blue Earth, with a departing Soyuz launch vehicle climbing towards the stars. The constellation depicted is Cepheus; this is the callsign chosen by the spacecraft commander. Banners enclosing the scene show the spacecraft designation, crew names and their national flags.

Soyuz TMA-13M was a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 40 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-13M is the 122nd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since 1967, and the 39th Soyuz mission to the ISS. The Soyuz remained docked to the space station for the Expedition 41 increment to serve as an emergency escape vehicle until its departure in November 2014.

The Soyuz FG rocket carrying the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft was rolled to the launch pad at Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 26 May 2014. Under sunny skies, the roll out began at 7 o'clock in the morning. The rollout was attended by the Soyuz backup crew members, Anton Shkaplerov, Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts. The Soyuz TMA-13M prime crew was not at the event, since it is considered to bring bad luck. Once the 49.5 meter tall Soyuz FG rocket was erected in its vertical launch position, the launcher was enclosed by its service structure, to provide protection and access platforms for workers.

The Soyuz TMA-13M mission patch was designed by Luc van den Abeelen for TsPK/Spacepatches.nl and Roscosmos. The patch is centred around the main image of a famous Baikonur monument, known as 'the fisherman'. The cosmonaut is shown floating over a blue Earth, with a departing Soyuz launch vehicle climbing towards the stars. The constellation depicted is Cepheus; this is the callsign chosen by the spacecraft commander. Banners enclosing the scene show the spacecraft designation, crew names and their national flags.

Soyuz TMA-13M was a 2014 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 40 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-13M is the 122nd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft since 1967, and the 39th Soyuz mission to the ISS. The Soyuz remained docked to the space station for the Expedition 41 increment to serve as an emergency escape vehicle until its departure in November 2014.

The Soyuz FG rocket carrying the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft was rolled to the launch pad at Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 26 May 2014. Under sunny skies, the roll out began at 7 o'clock in the morning. The rollout was attended by the Soyuz backup crew members, Anton Shkaplerov, Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts. The Soyuz TMA-13M prime crew was not at the event, since it is considered to bring bad luck. Once the 49.5 meter tall Soyuz FG rocket was erected in its vertical launch position, the launcher was enclosed by its service structure, to provide protection and access platforms for workers.

The Soyuz TMA-13M mission patch was designed by Luc van den Abeelen for TsPK/Spacepatches.nl and Roscosmos. The patch is centred around the main image of a famous Baikonur monument, known as 'the fisherman'. The cosmonaut is shown floating over a blue Earth, with a departing Soyuz launch vehicle climbing towards the stars. The constellation depicted is Cepheus; this is the callsign chosen by the spacecraft commander. Banners enclosing the scene show the spacecraft designation, crew names and their national flags.

Expedition 46 is scheduled to be the 46th expedition to the International Space Station.

Sergey Volkov, Mikhail Korniyenko and Scott Kelly are to transfer from Expedition 45, the latter two as part of their year-long stay aboard the ISS. Expedition 46 is scheduled to begin upon the departure of Soyuz TMA-17M in November 2015 and conclude upon the departure of Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016. The crew of Soyuz TMA-19M are then to transfer to Expedition 47.

The 46 icon in the foreground of the Expedition 46 patch represents the forty-sixth expeditionary mission to the International Space Station. The graphic portrays the limb of the home planet, Earth, with the black vastness of space in the background. Earth is depicted at the top with the flags of the countries of origin of the crew members: the United States of America, Russia and the United Kingdom. The flag of the U.K. is displayed in a position of prominence in recognition of the significance of the first British astronaut flown in space for the European Space Agency. The outer border is in the shape of a triangle with an unbroken border, symbolizing the infinite journey of discovery for past, present and future space explorers. The names of the six Expedition 46 astronauts and cosmonauts are shown in the border.

After production had started on the patch, a decision was made to not go with the design. This is the revised design released in 2015.

Expedition 40 was the 40th expedition to the International Space Station. A portion of the Expedition 39 crew transferred to Expedition 40 while the remainder of the crew launched on May 28, 2014 from Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Upon achieving orbit approximately nine minutes after launch, Soyuz TMA-13M, delivering the remainder of the crew, began a four-orbit rendezvous with the International Space Station. Soyuz TMA-13M subsequently docked with the Rassvet module of the ISS at 1:44 UTC on May 29. Hatches were opened between the two spacecraft just over two hours later at 3:52 UTC. The expedition ended with the undocking of Soyuz TMA-12M on September 10, 2014. The remainder of Expedition 40's crew joined Expedition 41.

Expedition 40 was the 40th expedition to the International Space Station. A portion of the Expedition 39 crew transferred to Expedition 40 while the remainder of the crew launched on May 28, 2014 from Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Upon achieving orbit approximately nine minutes after launch, Soyuz TMA-13M, delivering the remainder of the crew, began a four-orbit rendezvous with the International Space Station. Soyuz TMA-13M subsequently docked with the Rassvet module of the ISS at 1:44 UTC on May 29. Hatches were opened between the two spacecraft just over two hours later at 3:52 UTC. The expedition ended with the undocking of Soyuz TMA-12M on September 10, 2014. The remainder of Expedition 40's crew joined Expedition 41.

Expedition 28 was the 28th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station, and began on 23 May 2011 with the departure of the members of Expedition 27. The first three members of Expedition 28 arrived on the ISS aboard the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft on 4 April 2011, and were joined on 9 June 2011 by the three other crew members, who arrived aboard Soyuz TMA-02M. The expedition saw a number of significant events, including the final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, which took place in July 2011. Expedition 28 was superseded by Expedition 29 on 16 September 2011.

The Cape Kennedy Medals version has a more "dashed" embroidery appearance to the ship and "29".

Expedition 25 was the 25th long-duration mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition 25 began with the Soyuz TMA-18 undocking on 25 September 2010. Three new crewmembers (Scott Kelly, Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka) arrived aboard the ISS October 2010 on Soyuz TMA-01M to join Douglas Wheelock, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Shannon Walker, and formed the full six member crew of Expedition 25  NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock accepted command of Expedition 25 on 22 September 2010, taking over from Russia's Aleksandr Skvortsov. The departure of Wheelock, Walker and Yurchikhin on 25 November 2010 marked the official end of Expedition 25.
During Expedition 25 Progress M-08M spacecraft visited the ISS. Progress M-08M docked with the space station on 30 October 2010 bringing 2.5 tons of cargo supplies. Space shuttle Discovery on STS-133 mission was scheduled to arrive at the ISS on 3 November 2010 but was re-scheduled for launch on 3 February 2011. The 10th anniversary of human life, work and research on the ISS fell during Expedition 25. On 2 November 2000, Expedition 1 Commander William Shepherd and Flight Engineers Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko became the first residents of the space station. Expedition 25 ended on 26 November.

The Cape Kennedy Medals version has a merrowed edge. 

Expedition 18 was the 18th permanent crew of the International Space Station (ISS). The first two crew members, Michael Fincke, and Yuri Lonchakov were launched on 12 October 2008, aboard Soyuz TMA-13. With them was astronaut Sandra Magnus, who joined the Expedition 18 crew after launching on STS-126 and remained until departing on STS-119 on 25 March 2009. She was replaced by JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata, who arrived at the ISS on STS-119 on 17 March 2009. Gregory Chamitoff, who joined Expedition 18 after Expedition 17 left the station, ended his stay aboard ISS and returned to Earth with the STS-126 crew.

The Cape Kennedy Medals patch is virtually identical to the official A-B Emblem version.

Expedition 12 (2005) was the 12th expedition to the International Space Station, launched from Kazakhstan using the Russian Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft. The crew landed back in Kazakhstan on 8 April 2006 with the addition of the first Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Pontes.
American entrepreneur Gregory Olsen was launched in the Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft and returned with Expedition 11 on Soyuz TMA-6 on 11 October 2005 thereby becoming the third space tourist. 

The Cape Kennedy Medals has a partially merrowed edge.

Expedition 11 (2005) was the 11th expedition to the International Space Station, using the Soyuz TMA-6, which stayed during the expedition for emergency evacuation.
European Space Agency Italian Astronaut Roberto Vittori launched with Expedition 11 on the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft and returned 24 April 2005 with Expedition 10 on Soyuz TMA-5.

Padalka and Fincke arrived at the Station on 21 April 2004 aboard the Soyuz TMA-4 spacecraft with European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut André Kuipers. After more than a week of joint operations and handover activities, Padalka and Fincke officially took command of the Station on 29 April when Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri left the Station. This mission was the site for the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity Project.
Expedition 8 and Kuipers returned to Earth that same day aboard the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft. Kuipers' 11-day mission to the ISS was part of a commercial agreement between ESA and the Federal Space Agency of Russia.

Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Station Science Officer Michael Foale, Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri and ESA Astronaut Pedro Duque docked the Soyuz TMA-3 with the International Space Station at 07:15:58 UTC on 20 October 2003. At the time of docking, both spacecraft orbited the Earth above Russia.
Once the Expedition 7 crew undocked, Foale and Kaleri settled down to work, beginning a more than six-month stint focused on Station operations and maintenance.
The new Station crew, along with Duque, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 05:38:03 UTC, on 18 October 2003.
Foale and Kaleri departed the station for earth aboard the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft on 29 April 2004 along with ESA Astronaut André Kuipers, who had arrived with the Expedition 9 crew aboard Soyuz TMA-4 nine days earlier.

The Cape Kennedy Medals version has a merrowed rather than cut edge. The continents lack a blue border and the ISS embroidery is thinner than the official A-B Emblem version.

Expedition 3 was the third expedition to the International Space Station. Commander Frank Culbertson was the only American crew member, and as such the only American not on Earth during the 11 September terrorist attacks, which the crew photographed and videoed from the ISS.

Virtually identical to the offical A-B Emblem version.

Expedition 1 was the first long-duration stay on the International Space Station (ISS). The three-person crew stayed aboard the station for 136 days, from November 2000 to March 2001. It was the beginning of an uninterrupted human presence on the station which still continues, as of January 2014. Expedition 2, which also had three crew members, immediately followed Expedition 1.
The official start of the expedition occurred when the crew docked to the station on 2 November 2000, aboard the Russian spacecraft Soyuz TM-31, which had launched two days earlier. During their mission, the Expedition 1 crew activated various systems on board the station, unpacked equipment that had been delivered, and hosted three visiting Space Shuttle crews and two unmanned Russian Progress resupply vehicles. The crew was very busy throughout the mission, which was declared a success.

This particular version was sourced in Russia.

Expedition 46 is scheduled to be the 46th expedition to the International Space Station.

Sergey Volkov, Mikhail Korniyenko and Scott Kelly are to transfer from Expedition 45, the latter two as part of their year-long stay aboard the ISS. Expedition 46 is scheduled to begin upon the departure of Soyuz TMA-17M in November 2015 and conclude upon the departure of Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016. The crew of Soyuz TMA-19M are then to transfer to Expedition 47.

The 46 icon in the foreground of the Expedition 46 patch represents the forty-sixth expeditionary mission to the International Space Station. The graphic portrays the limb of the home planet, Earth, with the black vastness of space in the background. Earth is depicted at the top with the flags of the countries of origin of the crew members: the United States of America, Russia and the United Kingdom. The flag of the U.K. is displayed in a position of prominence in recognition of the significance of the first British astronaut flown in space for the European Space Agency. The outer border is in the shape of a triangle with an unbroken border, symbolizing the infinite journey of discovery for past, present and future space explorers. The names of the six Expedition 46 astronauts and cosmonauts are shown in the border.

After production had started on the patch, a decision was made to not go with the design. 

Expedition 45 is scheduled to be the 45th expedition to the International Space Station.

Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko are to transfer from Expedition 44 as part of their year-long stay aboard the ISS. Expedition 45 is scheduled to begin upon the arrival of Soyuz TMA-18M at the ISS in September 2015 and conclude upon the departure of Soyuz TMA-17M in November 2015. Kelly, Korniyenko and Sergey Volkov are then to transfer to the crew of Expedition 46.

The Expedition 45 crew will conduct its journey of exploration and discovery from a summit whose foundation was built by past generations of pioneers, scientists, engineers and explorers. This foundation is represented by the book of knowledge at the bottom of the patch. Curves radiate from the book representing the flow of knowledge - and the hard work, sacrifice and innovation that makes human spaceflight possible. The pages written during Expedition 45 will serve to benefit humanity on Earth and in space. The International Space Station is represented by a single bright star soaring over the Earth, illuminating a path to future, more distant destinations.

Expedition 44 is scheduled to be the 44th expedition to the International Space Station.

Yury Lonchakov was originally supposed to be the commander of Expedition 44 following being Flight Engineer 3 on Expedition 43. However, he resigned from the Russian Federal Space Agency on September 6, 2013, to take a position at Gazprom.

This is the insignia for the Expedition 44 mission. The International Space Station is positioned in the foreground poised to study Earth, the sun and cosmos that lie beyond. Two members of the Expedition 44 crew will spend a full year on the ISS - providing valuable experience for future long duration missions into deep space. The 12 Earths represent the planet's position around the sun over the course of that year. Four of the Earths are silhouetted in sunlight representing the four month duration of Expedition 44. The nine stars in the background represent the nine individuals that will visit and work on the ISS during the course of the expedition, including the six-member crew, whose names are inscribed around the patch's border, and the three-person Soyuz "taxi" crew. The use of ellipses and circles throughout the patch reflect a theme of "completion" or "return," as investments made in this orbiting laboratory return benefit to the Earth and its inhabitants.

Expedition 43 is scheduled to be the 43rd expedition to the International Space Station.

Yury Lonchakov resigned from the Russian federal space agency. This patch closely resembles the A-B Emblem version, however it has some subtle differences. It is presumed it was made to take advantage of the large sums of money paid for the A-B Emblem version (> $400).

An easy identifier is the lack of black stitching in the background of the Earth. The directional stitching of the "43" shading also differs.

This version was sold on eBay, sourced from Russia. 

Expedition 42 is the 42nd and current expedition to the International Space Station. It began on 10 November 2014 with the undocking of Soyuz TMA-13M, returning the crew of Expedition 41 to Earth.

Expedition 42 is the 42nd and current expedition to the International Space Station. It began on 10 November 2014 with the undocking of Soyuz TMA-13M, returning the crew of Expedition 41 to Earth.

Expedition 34 was the 34th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). It began on 18 November 2012 with the departure from the ISS of the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft, which returned the Expedition 33 crew to Earth.

This patch was produced for Center for operation of space ground-based infrastructure (TsENKI) in Baikonur and are difficult to find.

Expedition 43 is scheduled to be the 43rd expedition to the International Space Station.

Yury Lonchakov resigned from the Russian federal space agency. This patch closely resembles the A-B Emblem version, however it has some subtle differences. It is presumed it was made to take advantage of the large sums of money paid for the A-B Emblem version (> $400).

An easy identifier is the lack of black stitching in the background of the Earth. The directional stitching of the "43" shading also differs.

Expedition 43 is scheduled to be the 43rd expedition to the International Space Station.

Yury Lonchakov resigned from the Russian federal space agency and Gannadi Padalka replaced him on the crew list. This patch was from an early run of updated patches. 

Expedition 43 is scheduled to be the 43rd expedition to the International Space Station.

A-B Emblem produced 50 Expedition 43 patches, however, after production, Lonchakov resigned from the Russian federal space agency. 

Expedition 39 is scheduled to be the 39th expedition to the International Space Station. It will also mark the first time the ISS is under command of a Japanese astronaut, space veteran Koichi Wakata. After Expedition 21 in 2009 and Expedition 35 in 2013, it will be only the third time an ISS-crew is led neither by a NASA nor a RSA crew member.

This patch was produced for Center for operation of space ground-based infrastructure (TsENKI) in Baikonur and are difficult to find.

Expedition 39 is scheduled to be the 39th expedition to the International Space Station. It will also mark the first time the ISS is under command of a Japanese astronaut, space veteran Koichi Wakata. After Expedition 21 in 2009 and Expedition 35 in 2013, it will be only the third time an ISS-crew is led neither by a NASA nor a RSA crew member.

Expedition 38 is the 38th expedition to the International Space Station.

This patch was produced for Center for operation of space ground-based infrastructure (TsENKI) in Baikonur and are difficult to find.

Expedition 38 is the 38th expedition to the International Space Station.

This patch was worn on EVA 36 by Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy where they passed a Sochi 2014 Olympic torch. 

Expedition 37 was the 37th expedition to the International Space Station.

Before the final artwork was approved by the crew, NASA sent the order to A-B Emblem to produce this version. It was later replaced by the blue, circular Vitruvian man version. This would be one of three different artworks for Expedition 37.