Mission's End: ISS Astronauts to Return to Earth
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Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes (top left) waves a Brazilian flag after he arrived at the ISS with Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov (lower left) and flight engineer Jeffrey Williams (top right). Expedition 12 commander Bill McArthur (center) and flight engineer Valery Tokarev welcomed the astronauts aboard on April 1, 2006. CREDIT: NASA TV/collectSPACE.com. |
Three astronauts will cast off from the International Space Station (ISS) Saturday to ride a Russian spacecraft back to Earth and end their orbital mission.
 NASA will provide live landing coverage for Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes and the Expedition 12 crew beginning at 12:30 p.m EDT. Click here. |
"It's been an extraordinary privilege for us to represent humankind as, for a period of time, the only two human beings living off the surface of the Earth," said McArthur, commander of Expedition 12, during a brief change of command ceremony Friday. "But all wonderful experiences have an end."
Changing of the guard
McArthur and Tokarev, Expedition 12's flight engineer, are leaving the ISS in control of Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov, of Russia's Federal Space Agency, with NASA science officer Jeffrey Williams serving as the increments flight engineer. The Expedition 12 crew arrived at the ISS in October 2005.
"We will continue our mission, our work, in space," Vinogradov said during the ceremony.
McArthur, Tokarev and Pontes are expected to land their Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft on the steppes of Kazakhstan in Central Asia at about 7:48 p.m. (2348 GMT).
While the Expedition 12 crew is wrapping up a six-month mission aboard the ISS, Pontes is completing a 10-day spaceflight, eight of which were spent conducting experiments at the station. His spaceflight marks Brazil's first foray into human spaceflight.
"Everything I encountered here was equal to or better than I expected," Pontes said Friday. "Thanks to Bill and Valery for an excellent six months of service."
Set for landing
Pontes and the Expedition 12 crew are scheduled to seal themselves inside their Soyuz spacecraft at about 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) and, three hours later, undock from their berth at the aft end of the space station's Zvezda service module.
Tokarev will command Soyuz trip back to Earth, an hour-long descent that will begin at about 6:58 p.m. EDT (2058 GMT) when the TMA-7 vehicle fires its engines to leave orbit.
The spacecraft's gumdrop-shaped crew compartment will separate from its orbital and engine modules, plunge through the atmosphere heat shield first, and then deploy parachutes about 15 minutes prior to landing, NASA officials said. A set of retrorockets will fire to further slow the capsule's descent just before landing.
A fleet of helicopters, recovery crews and medical personnel are staging in Kustanai, Kazakhstan to meet the Pontes and the Expedition 12 crew once they land, NASA officials said.
During Friday's command-change ceremony, Williams presented McArthur - a retired U.S. Army colonel, aviator and four-time spaceflyer - with the Army Aviation Association of America's (Quad-A) Order of St. Michael's Gold Award to honor the more than 30 years of service the veteran astronaut has committed to the armed forces.
"I'm almost at a loss for words here," said McArthur, who also earlier spoke to top U.S. Army officers with Williams. "We are truly proud to be soldiers in space."
- ISS Astronauts Pass Halfway Mark in Crew Swap
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- Complete Coverage: ISS Expedition 12
- Complete Coverage: ISS Expedition 13
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