Expedition 27

Expedition 27 was a 2011 International Space Station resident increment commanded by Russian cosmonaut Dmitri Kondratiyev. The expedition began when Soyuz TMA-01M undocked on March 16, 2011, leaving Kondratiyev, Catherine Coleman, and Paolo Nespoli aboard the station from the Soyuz TMA-20 crew. Soyuz TMA-21 arrived in April with Aleksandr Samokutyayev, Andrei Borisenko, and Ronald Garan, returning the ISS to a six-person resident crew. The crew supported station research, logistics traffic, and visiting Shuttle operations during the final months of the Space Shuttle program. STS-134, Endeavour's last flight, arrived during the increment and delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer as well as external spares. Expedition 27 ended when Kondratiyev, Coleman, and Nespoli departed on Soyuz TMA-20, while Samokutyayev, Borisenko, and Garan remained aboard to continue into Expedition 28.