Space Station Crew to Return Home Sunday

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Two Russian cosmonauts and Malaysia?s first spaceflyer will return to Earth early Sunday to complete their respective missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

After six months in Earth orbit, veteran cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov are due to land their Russian-built Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft on the Central Asian steppes of Kazakhstan to end their Expedition 15 mission to the orbital laboratory.

?We would like to stay, but with the arrival of a new crew we do have to make room for them,? Yurchikhin, Expedition 15 commander, told reporters this week, adding that he?s looking forward to seeing his loved ones again.

Yurchikhin and Kotov, an Expedition 15 flight engineer, are wrapping up a busy spaceflight that has seen three visiting NASA space shuttle crews to continue ISS construction. On Friday, they handed control of the space station over to Expedition 16 commander Peggy Whitson, the first female astronaut to lead an ISS mission.

?It?s been a very impressive mission and you guys have performed exceptionally,? Whitson told the Expedition 15 crew.

Returning to Earth with Yurchikhin and Kotov is Malaysian astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, who is completing an 11-day flight to the space station. He conducted a series of science experiments and shared Malaysian space food with this ISS hosts. Whitson said the Malaysian dried mango dish was a particular hit.

?I?m happy that they liked the food and found it very tasty,? Shukor, an orthopedic surgeon chosen from 11,000 applicants to become his nation?s first astronaut, told reporters earlier this week. ?I love the crew because I really feel at home here.?

Shukor launched to the ISS on Oct. 10 with Whitson and Expedition flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko as part of a commercial agreement between the Malaysian government and Russia for Russian-built military jets. He will land with the Expedition 15 crew while Whitson, Malenchenko and NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson - who originally arrived at the ISS in June as part of its Expedition 15 crew - stay aboard as part of Expedition 16.

Anderson will return to Earth once his replacement - NASA astronaut Daniel Tani - arrives aboard NASA?s shuttle Discovery next week.

?On Sunday, I will be losing great friends, but during my time on station I found brothers,? Anderson told his Expedition 15 crewmates Friday. ?Thank you very much.?

Shukor and the Expedition 15 crew are slated to cast off from the ISS at 3:14 a.m. EDT (0714 GMT) Sunday and fire their Soyuz spacecraft?s engines at 5:47 a.m. EDT (0947 GMT) to make a planned 6:37 a.m. EDT (1037 GMT) landing on the Kazakh steppe.

Their space station departure will set the stage for a busy few weeks aboard the ISS, beginning with the planned Tuesday launch of NASA?s shuttle Discovery to deliver a vital connecting node to the orbital node. The 14-day construction flight will lay the foundation for future international laboratories at the ISS.

NASA will broadcast the undocking and landing activities of Shukor and the Expedition 15 crew live on NASA TV beginning at 11:45 p.m. EDT tonight (0345 Oct. 21 GMT). Click here for SPACE.com?s ISS mission updates and landing coverage.

• VIDEO: NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson
• Looking Back on 50 Years of Spaceflight
• Complete ISS Expedition Coverage

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