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Expedition 3

Zenith view of the International Space Station in December 2001, at the end of Expedition 3.
Mission type	Long-duration expedition
Mission duration	124 days, 22 hours, 47 minutes (at ISS) 128 days, 20 hours, 45 minutes, 58 seconds (launch to landing)
Distance travelled	85,860,485 kilometres (53,351,232 mi)
Orbits completed	2,020
Expedition
Space station	International Space Station
Began	12 August 2001, 18:41 (2001-08-12UTC18:41Z) UTC
Ended	15 December 2001, 17:28 (2001-12-15UTC17:29Z) UTC
Arrived aboard	STS-105 Space Shuttle Discovery
Departed aboard	STS-108 Space Shuttle Endeavour
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	Frank L. Culbertson Jr. Vladimir Dezhurov Mikhail Tyurin
EVAs	4
EVA duration	17 hours, 50 minutes
Expedition 3 mission patch L-R: Mikhail Tyurin, Frank L. Culbertson Jr., and Vladimir Dezhurov ISS expeditions ← Expedition 2 Expedition 4 →

Expedition 3 was the third expedition to the International Space Station. Commander Frank L. Culbertson Jr. was the only American crew member, and as such the only American not on Earth during the 9/11 attacks, which the crew photographed and videoed from the ISS.^[1]

Prime crew

Position	Astronaut
Commander	Frank Culbertson, NASA Third and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer	Vladimir Dezhurov, RSA Second and last spaceflight
Flight Engineer	Mikhail Tyurin, RSA First spaceflight

Backup crew

Position	Astronaut
Commander	Valery Korzun, RSA
Flight Engineer	Peggy Whitson, NASA
Flight Engineer	Sergei Treshchev, RSA

Research in space begun by two previous crews aboard the International Space Station (ISS) expanded during the Expedition Three mission. The third resident crew launched on 10 August 2001 on Space Shuttle Discovery during mission STS-105 and took control of the complex on 13 August 2001. The crew conducted a science-intensive increment and completed four spacewalks. The Expedition Three crew ended their 117-day residency on board the ISS on 8 December 2001 when their custom Soyuz seat-liners were transferred to Space Shuttle Endeavour for the return trip home during mission STS-108.

The Expedition Three crew of the International Space Station enjoyed a unique view of the 2001 Leonid meteor storm. "It looked like we were seeing UFOs approaching the earth flying in formation, three or four at a time," recalls astronaut Frank Culbertson. "There were hundreds per minute going beneath us, really spectacular!" News reports had warned sky watchers in advance: On 18 November 2001, Earth was due to plow through a minefield of debris shed by Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Innumerable bits of comet dust would become meteors when they hit Earth's atmosphere at 144,000 miles per hour (64,000 m/s). Experts predicted an unforgettable display ... and it came. Millions of people saw the show, but only three of them—the ones on board the space station—saw it from above. "We had to look down to see the meteors," says Culbertson. "That's because the atmosphere (where comet dust burns up) is below the station."^{[citation needed]}

An international crew of three were the third crew to live aboard the International Space Station. The team was led by American Commander Frank Culbertson, and joined by Russian crewmates Vladimir Dezhurov, mission pilot, and flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin. As a part of the STS-105 mission, Discovery delivered the Expedition 3 crew to the station. During their four-month stay, the crew saw the orbital complex expand and research work grow. The Expedition 3 crew returned home on mission STS-108.^{[citation needed]}

All four of the spacewalks during Expedition 3 were completed using the Russian Orlan spacesuit and from the Pirs air lock on the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

The Expedition 3 mission patch depicts the book of space history, turning from the chapter with the Russian space station Mir and the space shuttle to the next chapter, one that will be written on the blank pages of the future by space explorers working for the benefit of the entire world. Above the book is a layout of what the station will look like when completed, docked with the space shuttle.^{[original research?]}

On 11 September 2001, the International Space Station passed over New York City and astronaut Frank L. Culbertson Jr. photographed the smoke clouds billowing from the World Trade Center site in Downtown Manhattan.^[4][5]

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to ISS Expedition 3.

• Expedition 3 Photography