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Space Station crew returns to Earth

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Washington, Mar 11 : Three crew members from the International Space Station returned to Earth Monday after 166 days in space, during which they made 2,656 orbits around the planet and traveled almost 70.5 million miles

Expedition 38 crew members Michael Hopkins of NASA, and Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) touched down southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at about 11:24 p.m. EDT (9:24 a.m., March 11, in Dzhezkazgan).

During Expedition 38, the crew members participated in a variety of research, including protein crystal growth studies and biological studies of plant seedling growth to technology demonstrations that are helping to improve our understanding of how liquid moves in microgravity.

They conducted student experiments that observed celestial events in space. One of several key research focus areas during Expedition 38 was human health management for long duration space travel, as NASA and Roscosmos prepare for two crew members to spend one year aboard the space station in 2015.

During their time aboard the orbiting laboratory, the three men were there to welcome three visiting cargo spacecraft. Two Russian Progress crafts docked to the station, bringing tons of supplies.

In January, Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Cygnus spacecraft loaded with cargo and experiments flew to the space station as part of the Orbital-1 cargo resupply mission. This was the company's first of at least eight cargo delivery flights through 2016 to the station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract.

Kotov, Ryazanskiy and Hopkins were on hand as Mastracchio, Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency arrived on Nov. 7, 2013, bearing the Olympic torch used to light the Olympic flame at Fisht Stadium in Sochi, Russia, which marked the start of the 2014 Winter Games in February.

Hopkins and fellow Expedition 38 NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio ventured outside the confines of the space station during two spacewalks in December to replace a suspect ammonia pump that is part of the station's equipment cooling system. On the Russian side, Kotov and Ryazanskiy conducted three spacewalks.

The first trip outside was to install and replace experiments and hardware attached to the exterior of the Russian segment and display the Olympic torch. The other two walks were to install a pair of cameras on the hull of the station's Zvezda Service Module that are part of a Canadian commercial endeavor with Roscosmos designed to downlink Earth-observation imagery to Internet-based subscribers.

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Space Station crew returns to Earth

3 space station crew members back on Earth

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The Soyuz TMA-10M crew, relaxing shortly after returning to Earth from the International Space Station; left to right: flight engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy, commander Oleg Kotov and NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins NASA TV

Despite strained relations over Russian actions in Ukraine, superpower cooperation in space continued unabated Monday with two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut departing the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz ferry craft and plunging to a landing in snowy Kazakhstan to close out a 166-day mission.

Landing in arctic conditions, with low clouds, snow and temperatures near zero degrees Fahrenheit, the Soyuz TMA-10M crew module settled to a jarring parachute-and-rocket-assisted touchdown at 11:24 p.m. EDT (9:24 a.m. Tuesday local time).

Earlier in the day, the weather prompted concern the crew's return might be delayed. Russian recovery forces deployed in a fleet of MI-8 helicopters were unable to initially reach the landing site because of rotor icing and had to return to a staging area in nearby Karaganda.

But mission managers ultimately decided to press ahead, and Soyuz commander Oleg Kotov, flight engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy and NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins were cleared to proceed with the entry, undocking from the International Space Station's upper Poisk module at 8:02 p.m.

"Bye, bye, station," one of the crew members radioed on the translated space-to-ground audio loop.

After moving a safe distance away from the space station, Kotov, strapped into the craft's center seat, monitored a four-minute-50-second rocket firing starting at 10:30 p.m. to slow the spacecraft by about 286 mph. That was just enough to lower the far side of the orbit into the atmosphere for a steep plunge to Kazakhstan.

"Everything is fine on board. Pressure is stable, everything is (normal)," a crew member radioed.

Moments before falling into the discernible atmosphere at an altitude of 87 miles, the three modules making up the TMA-10M spacecraft split apart, and the central 6,400-pound crew module positioned itself with its heat shield forward to endure the extreme temperatures of atmospheric entry.

The entry appeared to go smoothly, and the spacecraft's main parachute unfurled at an altitude of about 6-and-a-half miles, slowing the craft to about 16 mph for the final stages of the descent. Because of cloud cover, the landing was not seen in real-time video, but Russian flight controllers in radio contact with the spacecraft said the crew was in good condition.

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3 space station crew members back on Earth

Space crew returns to Earth

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A pair of Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut left the International Space Station in a Russian Soyuz capsule on Monday and returned to Earth, ending a six-month mission.

With former station commander Oleg Kotov at the controls, the Soyuz touched down at 11:24 p.m. ET Monday (9:24 a.m. Tuesday local time) southeast of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

Strapped inside the Soyuz with Kotov were fellow Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy and NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins. The trio launched together into space last Sept. 25.

"It was a really good increment," Kotov said during a change-of-command ceremony broadcast on NASA TV Sunday.

In addition to working on dozens of science experiments, Kotov and Ryazanskiy carried the Olympic torch for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games outside the station during a spacewalk on Nov. 9. The torch was transported back to Earth by an earlier crew in time for the Sochi ceremonies.

With Kotov and his crewmates gone, the space station contingent has been reduced from six to three spacefliers, including Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to command the station. Three fresh crew members are due to arrive later this month.

A Russian MI-8 helicopter is seen through the window of another helicopter at the Karaganda airport during Monday's preparations for the recovery of a Soyuz space crew on the steppes of Kazakhstan.

Severe winter weather in Kazakhstan had threatened to delay the Soyuz's landing. A Russian space industry source told Reuters that fog and low visibility initially kept airborne recovery teams from getting to Dzhezkazgan, a town about 90 miles (140 kilometers) from the remote landing site on the windswept Kazakh steppes. But Russian officials decided to go ahead with the landing after reviewing weather forecasts and the status of the recovery crews.

First published March 10 2014, 8:34 PM

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Space crew returns to Earth

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Walkthrough Ep.21 w/Angel – Through The Space Station! – Video

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LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Walkthrough Ep.21 w/Angel - Through The Space Station!
If you liked the video leave a LIKE And SHARE With your Friends! And let me know! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=FearedAngel Recent Walk...

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LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Walkthrough Ep.21 w/Angel - Through The Space Station! - Video

Space Station Crew Discusses Hi Tech Life in Space at South by Southwest Conference – Video

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Space Station Crew Discusses Hi Tech Life in Space at South by Southwest Conference
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 38 Flight Engineers Michael Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace ...

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Space Station Crew Discusses Hi Tech Life in Space at South by Southwest Conference - Video

Japanese Astronaut Takes Command of Space Station

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Pledging to uphold the Japanese spirit of wa harmony Koichi Wakata took command of the International Space Station on Sunday, the first Japanese astronaut to lead a human space mission.

In a change-of-command ceremony, broadcast on NASA Television, Wakata, thanked the outgoing commander, Russian Oleg Kotov, for his leadership as well as crewmates Sergey Ryazanskiy and Mike Hopkins, all of whom who will be returning to Earth on Monday.

Ukraine Crisis: Russian Roulette in Space?

We will continue to keep the station operations safe, efficient and fun, as you guys led us to do so. Have a safe return and well catch you back on the planet in a couple of months, Wakata said.

Wakata, 50, who is serving for the second time aboard the space station, becomes only the third person who is not an American or a Russia to lead a space station crew. Previously, Canadian Chris Hadfield and the European Space Agencys Frank DeWinne held command posts.

I hope you will bring station operation to success with wa spirit, a Japanese flight director said, speaking through a translator.

Video: Cute Robot Gets Chatty on the Space Station

Wa harmony is a creed, replied Wakata. I think it expresses the spirit of Japanese through its long history. I really want to respect the wa spirit.

Wakata will remain in command until he and crewmatesRick Mastracchio and Mikhail Tyurin return to Earth in mid-May. They will be joined by three new space station crewmembersOleg Artemyev, Alexander Skvortsov and Steve Swanson later this month.

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Japanese Astronaut Takes Command of Space Station

Astronaut Suit 'Flies Away' From Space Station And Burns Up In The Atmosphere (VIDEO)

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If you've seen 'Gravity', you might assume this video of a space suit dramatically spinning away from the International Space Station into the void is just another trailer, or at worst an outtake.

It's real.

The clip shows a space suit being tossed from the airlock of the ISS, spinning around and heading towards the Earth.

So why have you never seen it before? Because there was no human inside that suit.

The clip went viral online over the weekend, but actually dates from 2006. It records an experiment known as SuitSat, in which Russian astronauts attempted to use as old space suit as a cheap way to place a satellite in orbit.

The suit was filled with electronics and transmitters, and pushed out into space. It then stayed in orbit for seven months, before tumbling into the atmosphere and burning up.

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Astronaut Suit 'Flies Away' From Space Station And Burns Up In The Atmosphere (VIDEO)


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