Deep Field

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Deep Field
29 September 2026 2518 stories tracked

Glossary · Crewed Spaceflight

Expedition

The numbered crew rotation aboard the space station, roughly six months at a time.

The station has been continuously occupied since November 2000 and its crews are counted in expeditions, each covering a period with a defined commander and complement. Handovers overlap by days so knowledge transfers directly. Six months is the standard tour, set by the certified lifetime of the Soyuz or Dragon parked outside as a lifeboat rather than by anything about the people. A few crew members have flown considerably longer stays deliberately, as medical experiments in their own right.

Related terms

EVA (spacewalk) Working outside the spacecraft, in a suit that is itself a spacecraft. Life support (ECLSS) The machinery that keeps the air breathable and the water drinkable, indefinitely. What weightlessness does to people Bone loss, fluid shift, weakened hearts and eyesight that does not always come back. Docking and berthing Two ways to attach a spacecraft to a station: it flies in, or it is caught and bolted on.

Questions

What is Expedition?

The numbered crew rotation aboard the space station, roughly six months at a time.

Why does it matter?

Six months is the standard tour, set by the certified lifetime of the Soyuz or Dragon parked outside as a lifeboat rather than by anything about the people. A few crew members have flown considerably longer stays deliberately, as medical experiments in their own right.

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