On 7 April 2007, Soyuz TMA-10 lifted off from Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The time was 12:31 PM CDT (17:31 GMT). The Soyuz craft was carried aloft by a Starsem booster, and after some nine minutes of powered flight, reached its preliminary orbit. Aboard were the new ISS Expedition 15 crew, consisting of Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, and Soyuz Pilot/Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov. Along for the ride was American space trourist Charles Simonyi (pdf). After two days of on orbit maneuvers and course correction, TMA-10 docked at ISSy on 9 August 2007 at 2:11 PM CDT (19:11 GMT).

These latest space travelers were warmly greeted by the Expedition 14 crew, in residence since September 2006. Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, and Second Flight Engineer Sunita Williams, who came aboard with STS-116 in December 2006.

On 21 April 2007, after 11 days of joint operations, and orientation for the Expedition 15 crew, the departing Expedition 14 crewmembers, boarded the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft sealing the hatches behind them. Tourist Charles Simonyi joined them for the return home. Undocking took place at 4:11 AM CDT (9:11 GMT). TMA-9 executed its deorbit rocket firing, reentered the atmosphere and landing safely back in Kazakhstan on 21 April 2007 at 7:31 AM CDT (12:31 GMT).

With the help of now veteran crewmember Sunita Williams, the Expedition 15 crew quickly adjusted to life aboard ISSy. Russian cargo freighter Progress 25 arrived to dock with ISSy on 15 May 2007. It brought over two tons (1820 kg) of supplies including water, oxygen, dry goods, and food, along with some fresh fruit and vegetables. Arriving Progress vehicles are always a time of excitement and anticipation for station crews.

EVAs were carried out from the Russian PIRS Airlock & Docking Compartment docking compartment on 30 May and 6 June 2007. Both EVAs were conducted by Commander Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Kotov, wearing Orlan (Russian for Eagle) suits. The main purpose of these spacewalks was to install shielding to the Russian Zvezda (Service or habitation) module against micro-meteoriods and man-made hazards such as small bits of space junk. The first EVA lasted 5 hours 25 minutes, and the second 5 hours 38 minutes. Each was successful, accomplishing all tasks planned.

Numerous scientific experimental programs were scheduled for Expedition 15. These included biological experiments such as taking blood and urine samples from crewmembers for analysis on Earth to determine the long-term effects of micro-gravity on human beings. Plant growth experiments (Lada) in micro-gravity under artificial lights were carried out as well.

The EVA of 6 June took place just before the expected visit of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-117. Atlantis launched on 8 June, arriving 10 June. EVA-19 was to be the last spacewalk mounted from the PIRS airlock compartment in Orlan suits during Expedition 15.

Official NASA Press Release: 06Jun07

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov wound up a spacewalk of 5 hours, 37 minutes from the Pirs docking compartment airlock at 20:00 UT (4 p.m. EDT) on Wednesday. They installed a section of Ethernet cable on the Zarya module, installed additional Service Module Debris Protection (SMDP) panels on Zvezda, and deployed a Russian scientific experiment.

Five SMDP panels were installed by station Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov on May 30. During that 5-hour, 25-minute spacewalk they also rerouted a Global Positioning System antenna cable. On today's spacewalk they bolted 12 additional panels into place. They also installed the Ethernet cable on the Zarya module and a Russian experiment called Biorisk on Pirs.

Yurchikhin again was the lead spacewalker, EV1, wearing the Russian Orlan spacesuit with red stripes. Kotov, EV2, wore the suit with blue stripes. This was the second spacewalk for both.

Out of the airlock, the first task was to install the Russian scientific experiment, called Biorisk. It looks at the effects of microorganisms on structural materials used in space. They attached it to the outside of Pirs.

Next the cosmonauts moved forward with a ribbon cable reel holding the Ethernet cable. They installed that section of cable on Zarya. It is the first of two sections. The second will be installed later. Once both are in place and functioning, computer capabilities of the station should be increased considerably.

After the cable installation, they moved aft to the forward end of the Zvezda Service Module. There they removed one of two SMDP bundles remaining on the "Christmas Tree," an adaptor that initially had three bundles attached. It was stowed at the Unity Node on Pressurized Mating Adaptor No. 3 (PMA-3). Yurchikhin maneuvered Kotov, on the end of the Strela manually operated crane, to the Christmas Tree during the May 30 spacewalk. Kotov retrieved it and stowed it on Zvezda, where they installed five SMDP panels on May 30. The aluminum panels vary in size but are about an inch thick. They typically measure about 2 by 3 feet and weigh 15 to 20 pounds. Initially, the spacewalkers tethered the first of today's bundles to handrails.

Yurchikhin and Kotov opened the first bundle and install its panels on Zvezda's conical section, the area between Zvezda's large and small diameters, to join the five they installed May 30. Another six panels had been bolted into place there in 2002.

Once that was done, they opened the remaining bag and installed its six panels.
Six SMDP panels were installed during an Aug. 16, 2002, spacewalk by Expedition 5 Commander Valery Korzun and Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson.

(If you haven't yet looked at "Sasha's Dinosaurs" and "Gennady's Dinosaurs", PLEASE do so now! Otherwise, the following will not make sense.)

Wow, we are dealing with multiple inconsistencies here. Let's examine the problems with what Yurchikhin said, compared with what Kaleri and Padalka uttered in 2004.

First, Yurchikhin said that the "Dinosaurs" need a protective cap. In August 2004, Padalka mentioned that he had pulled the “Dinosaur” out of the casing. What has happened to this casing since EVA 9c? Has it been lost? Considering how carefully Astronauts and Cosmonauts handle and stow their tools, this seems unlikely. Did the casing escape from someone and drift off into space over the years? Again, not likely to happen, as Astronauts and Cosmonauts are very diligent about keeping EVERYTHING they work with, including themselves, on tethers to prevent such losses. This is a glaring inconsistency.

Yurchikhin expounded twice on how very SHARP the tool is, and that it needs a protective cap for safety. Yet, in the VERY NEXT sentence, he explains that the "Dinosaurs" don't cut, but RIP to pieces. This strongly suggests that the jaws of the scissors have become quite dull. The man actually contradicts himself in the space of one paragraph.

So, if the jaws are not the problem with safety, perhaps we should look at the ends of the jaws insead. See the large version of the photo provided of "Dinosaurs" by a " chuckling" NASA employee to the debunker for the purpose of explaining "Sasha's Dinosaurs". From what we can see of the points at the end of each jaw, they appear rather rounded, and not sharp at all. This actually makes sense, because any tool meant to be used while wearing a vulnerable spacesuit in the airless vacuum of space certainly shouldn't present a risk of puncture, right?

So, when "Fyodor's Dinosaurs" are put side-by-side with "Sasha's Dinosaurs" and "Gennady's Dinosaurs", we are left with more questions than answers. What is the truth regarding the Russian use of the word "Dinosaur" during spaceflight? Could the term "Dinosaur" be equivalent to the rumored meaning of "Santa Claus" for US Astronauts in the 1960s? The possibility is surely worth considering...

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At the end of the day, it's up to YOU to draw your own conclusions.

© 2007 Jeff Challender