The first two crew members, Yuri Malenchenko and Peggy Whitson, launched on 10 October 2007, aboard Soyuz TMA-11, and were joined by spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, the first Malaysian in space.

Upon reentry, the astronaut's Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft suffered a minor malfunction, causing the craft to follow a very steep ballistic descent.

As a result, the crew experienced forces up to 10 G, ending up about 260 miles (418 km) west of the targeted landing site.

[19] On 20 November, Whitson and Tani completed the second EVA for the increment, a 7-hour, 16-minute spacewalk to outfit the Harmony node in its new position.

Expedition 16 also saw the arrival of the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) to the station, named Jules Verne after the science fiction author.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.