Expedition 18

Expedition 18
Promotional poster
Mission typeLong-duration expedition
Expedition
Space stationInternational Space Station
Began12 October 2008 (2008-10-12)
Ended8 April 2009 (2009-04-09)
Arrived aboardSoyuz TMA-13
Chamitoff: STS-124
Space Shuttle Discovery
Magnus: STS-126
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Wakata: STS-119
Space Shuttle Discovery
Departed aboardSoyuz TMA-13
Chamitoff: STS-126
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Magnus: STS-119
Space Shuttle Discovery
Wakata: STS-127
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Crew
Crew size3
MembersMichael Fincke
Yuri Lonchakov
Gregory Chamitoff* (October–November)
Sandra Magnus (November–March)
Koichi Wakata† (March–April)
* – transferred from Expedition 17
† – transferred to Expedition 19
EVAs2
EVA duration10 hours, 27 minutes

Expedition 18 mission patch

(Left to right) Koichi Wakata, Michael Fincke, Sandra Magnus, Yuri Lonchakov, Gregory Chamitoff

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,[1] ended his stay aboard ISS and returned to Earth with the STS-126 crew.

  1. ^ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2008). "Expedition 18 Launch Preparations". NASA. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.