Expedition 8

Expedition 8 was a two-person International Space Station resident increment commanded by Michael Foale with Aleksandr Kaleri as flight engineer. The crew launched on Soyuz TMA-3 from Baikonur on October 18, 2003, docked with the station on October 20, and Expedition 8 formally began when Soyuz TMA-2 undocked on October 27. Foale and Kaleri maintained station operations during a reduced-crew period, supported research and Progress cargo work, repaired station systems, and performed a February 26, 2004 EVA to install and service external experiments and hardware. They returned on Soyuz TMA-3 on April 30, 2004.