Three space station residents safely returned to Earth June 1, parachuting to landing in Kazahkstan to complete a five and a half tour of duty on board the International Space Station. Soyuz TMA-17 with Expedition 23 crewmembers Oleg Kotov, the outgoing commander, and flight engineers Timothy Creamer and Soichi Noguchi, touched down in the target landing zone on time at 11:35 p.m. EDT.
FREE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF LANDING AND POSTLANDING ACTIVITIES • WATCH | DOWNLOAD SOYUZ UNDOCKS FROM THE STATION • WATCH | DOWNLOAD LARGER HIGH-BANDWIDTH ALL-ACCESS MEMBER VIDEO DOWNLOADS POSTLANDING INTERVIEWS • DOWNLOAD LANDING HIGHLIGHTS • DOWNLOAD SOYUZ UNDOCKS FROM ISS • DOWNLOAD CHANGE OF COMMAND CEREMONY AND HATCH CLOSING • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE NASA TV LANDING COVERAGE - PART 2 • DOWNLOAD COMPLETE NASA TV LANDING COVERAGE - PART 2 • DOWNLOAD The outgoing Expedition 23 spacefarers held a change of command ceremony earlier in the day with their Expedition 24 counterparts, commander Alexander Skvortsov, Mikhail Kornienko and Tracy Caldwell Dyson. I would like to wish all the best for the crew that stay here for their mission," said Kotov. "It's time. Alexander, I give up command of this station." "I am proud to accept command of International Space Station from you," Skvortsov replied. "I was glad to work with crewmembers on space station in this time and I hope that we will continue with good tradition." The return trip shortly after the hatches between the two craft were closed as Soyuz TMA-17 undocked from aft port of the space station's Zvezda service module at 8:04 p.m. Undocking appeared nominal and cameras outside ISS showed the spacecraft slowly backing away with the Earth below as the two vehicles passed over Mongolia. A relatively lighthearted mood seemed evident on the station, Soyuz and Russian mission control. "I forgot something. Can we go back?" joked Creamer as the Soyuz began its final separation from the station. After circling Earth one more time, the de-orbit burn took place at 10:34 p.m. as Soyuz fired its engines for a 4 minute, 21 second retrograde burn. The engine firing slowed the spacecraft by about 258 miles, lowering its orbital perigee just enough to cause the vehicle to dip into the atmosphere and begin the re-entry process. As the ship fell toward the atmosphere, the three modules that make up the Soyuz spacecraft, the orbital, descent and instrumentation/propulsion modules, separated normally just before entry interface at 11:02 p.m. The orbital and instrumentation modules, the forward and aft modules, burned up on re-entry while the three crewmembers remained safe in the descent module protected by its ablative heat shield. Soyuz TMA-17's re-entry was normal, not a ballistic free-fall as happened a couple times in recent years, and the capsule deployed its parachute as it fell through crystal clear skies toward touchdown. Because the landing was right on target, recovery crews were able to reach the spacecraft quickly and extract the crew from their cramped quarters. Television views after landing showed the three men experiencing gravity for the first time in half a year seated in reclining chairs, eating fruit and greeting recovery and medical personnel. Kotov, Creamer and Noguchi are scheduled to fly to the town of Karaganda for a welcoming ceremony and medical examinations. Then Kotov will return to the cosmonaut training facility in Star City, Russia while Creamer and Noguchi will fly to Houston. Skvortsov, Kornienko and Caldwell Dyson will be the only residents aboard the space station until the other half of Expedition 24 arrives. Fyodor Yurchikhin, Douglas Wheelock and Shannon Walker will launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft on June 15 and dock with ISS two days later on June 17. (The Spacearium / SpaceflightNews.net)
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