spacetoday.net: NASA names next ISS crew

Posted: Wed, Nov 24, 2004, 8:15 AM ET (1315 GMT)
ISS illustration (NASA)

An astronaut and one of the most experienced cosmonauts in history will make up the next long-duration crew to stay on the International Space Station, NASA announced Tuesday. John Phillips and Sergei Krikalev will fly to the ISS in April 2005 as the Expedition 11 crew, slated to spend six months on the station. Phillips visited the station during the STS-100 mission in 2001, his only spaceflight to date; he also served as a backup for the Expedition 7 crew. Krikalev has spent 625 days in space on five flights, including two long-duration missions on Mir and as a member of Expedition 1, the first ISS long-duration crew. With a six-month stay on ISS on Expedition 11 Krikalev will break the record for most time spent in space, currently held by Sergei Avdeyev, who spent 747.6 days in orbit on three Mir missions. Phillips and Krikalev are also slated to be on the ISS when the shuttle returns to flight, currently scheduled for May 2005.