The first
female commander of the International Space Station (ISS) handed control of the
orbiting laboratory over to a new crew Thursday as she prepares for a return to
Earth this weekend.
NASA
astronaut Peggy Whitson turned the station's reins over to Russian
cosmonaut Sergei Volkov in a traditional ceremony before her planned Saturday
landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan in Central Asia.
A Russian
Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft is scheduled to ferry Whitson, cosmonaut Yuri
Malenchenko and bioengineer So-yeon Yi — South
Korea's first astronaut — back to Earth on April 19 for their planned at about
4:30 a.m. EDT (0830 GMT) landing.
"I'm officially
handing over the International Space Station over to Sergei Volkov, and I'm
very happy to do so," Whitson said during the brief, televised ceremony. "We've
had a really great privilege and honor to be here on the station when so much
has changed, and we feel like we're handing over a very beautiful station to
you guys and look forward to your work."
Whitson passed
the 374-day mark in space on Wednesday to set
a new U.S. record for the most cumulative time in orbit.
She is wrapping
up the station's Expedition 16 mission with Malenchenko after six months in
space. They launched to the station last October and hosted three visiting NASA
shuttle crews that boosted the outpost's living space by delivering a
connecting module, European laboratory and, most recently, a Japanese storage room
and Canadian robot.
"Thank you
so much for such a pretty station, a beautiful station," said Volkov, the second-generation
cosmonaut in command station's new Expedition 17 crew. "We wish for you a
safe trip back home and good luck."
Volkov and
Expedition 17 flight engineer Oleg Kononenko launched to the space station with
Yi on April 8 and arrived two days later. The third member of their crew, NASA
astronaut Garrett Reisman, was already aboard the station as an Expedition 16
flight engineer.
Yi, 29, is
flying a 10-day mission under a $25 million commercial agreement between Russia
and South Korea. She will complete a series of experiments and educational
outreach activities before departing the station with Whitson and Malenchenko.
"As parting
gifts, we have a couple for you...the first one is Garrett," Whitson told Volkov
as the six station astronauts erupted with laughter. "I know he's going to be a
great addition to your crew."
Reisman
arrived at the station in mid-March during a NASA shuttle mission. His
replacement is due to arrive in early June.
Whitson
also presented Volkov with her leftover supply of hot sauce, which she served as
a staple during meals aboard the space station.
"You're in
control now," she told Volkov. "You have the sauce."
NASA
will broadcast the undocking and landing of Yi and the station's Expedition 16
crew live on NASA TV beginning Friday at 9:30 p.m. EDT (0130 April 19 GMT). Click here for SPACE.com's ISS mission
updates and NASA TV feed.
advertisement
