It’s a extremely anticipated return that has solely drawn extra consideration because of mounting geopolitical tensions during the last month, and NASA has repeatedly reaffirmed that it continues to work carefully with Russian area company Roscosmos.
The trio will say their farewells to the remaining area station crew and shut the hatch between the Soyuz and the Rassvet docking module round midnight. The Soyuz is predicted to undock at 3:21 a.m. ET Wednesday, and the spacecraft will expertise its deorbit burn at 6:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
The crew is predicted to make their parachute-assisted touchdown at 7:28 a.m. ET southeast of the city of Dzhezkazgan.
Each step of the crew’s return will stream dwell on NASA’s TV channel and web site.
After touchdown, Vande Hei will journey again to Houston aboard a Gulfstream jet, as different NASA astronauts have executed earlier than, and the cosmonauts will return to their coaching base in Star City, Russia.
Joint operations between NASA and Roscosmos on the Russian amenities at Baikonur, Kazakhstan, “proceed to go properly,” stated Joel Montalbano, the supervisor of NASA’s International Space Station program, throughout a press convention on March 14.
Montalbano’s remarks got here as Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin made a number of fiery social media posts directed on the United States, together with a closely edited, partially animated video that appeared to threaten that Russian astronauts would abandon Vande Hei in area. Rogozin has lengthy been identified to share outlandish statements on social media. Former astronaut Scott Kelly only in the near past backed off of a Twitter warfare with Rogozin.
Vande Hei and Dubrov launched to the area station in April 2021, and collectively they’ve accomplished 5,680 orbits of Earth and traveled greater than 150 million miles round our planet. Vande Hei has now damaged the report for the longest single spaceflight by an American astronaut, which beforehand was set by Kelly at 340 days.
The prolonged mission will enable researchers to review the results of long-duration spaceflight on the human physique, just like the Twins Study that Kelly and his twin, Mark, participated in throughout Scott’s lengthy length. The insights gathered from prolonged missions can higher put together NASA to ship astronauts to the moon and on to Mars, based on the company.
This was Vande Hei’s second spaceflight, so he has logged a complete of 523 days in area. It was Dubrov’s first flight.
Meanwhile, Shkaplerov arrived on the area station in October together with a Russian director and actress who filmed the primary film in area. While they returned to Earth simply weeks after their arrival, Shkaplerov remained on the area station and ends his fourth area mission with 708 complete days spent in area.
Change of command
Shkaplerov handed over command of the International Space Station to NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn Tuesday morning. Before handing Marshburn a ceremonial “key” to the area station, signifying the change in command, Shkaplerov mirrored on his time in area, together with a number of the conditions the crew have confronted.
“It’s like some satellites tried to kill us,” he stated, inflicting the assembled crew of 10 astronauts and cosmonauts to snigger. His remark was in reference to a Russian anti-satellite check that created particles in November.
He additionally bolstered the close-knit and familial nature of the area station crew, particularly given present geopolitical tensions.
“People have issues on Earth,” he stated. “On orbit, we’re one crew, and I believe ISS is sort of a image of the friendship, cooperation (and) our versatile way forward for exploration of area. Thank you very a lot, my crew members. You are like my area brothers and area sister.”
Marshburn stated it was an honor and privilege to simply accept command of the area station, “persevering with the worldwide partnership and that legacy in spaceflight.” Marshburn thanked Shkaplerov for being a “great commander.”
“I can not thanks sufficient on your dedication to the security of the station, the security of your crew, your humor, your friendship and your dedication to the flight management groups around the globe,” Marshburn stated.
Comings and goings
After the departure of Vande Hei, Dubrov and Shkaplerov, the remaining area station crew contains Marshburn, together with NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron, European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer and the just lately arrived Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov.When the Russian trio docked with the area station on March 15, they sparked hypothesis by donning vivid yellow spacesuits trimmed with blue. It raised questions on whether or not the three have been displaying solidarity with Ukraine by carrying its nationwide colours and rebuking their very own authorities’s invasion. So far, no definitive reply has been given.
The area station will not be house to a crew of seven for lengthy. The non-public Axiom Space-1 mission, carrying former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and US crew members Larry Connor, Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy, is launching to the area station no sooner than April 6. The Axiom crew will return after 10 days.
Then, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission will convey NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins, in addition to ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, to the area station later in April.
No spacewalks are at present on the schedule throughout this time of heavy crew rotation. NASA continues to analyze a “greater than regular” quantity of water found inside Maurer’s helmet after his first spacewalk on March 23. A skinny layer of water was discovered inside his helmet as soon as he returned to the airlock almost seven hours after starting the spacewalk. The crew are attempting to know what triggered this and decide how you can repair it.
“The company and our worldwide companions are continually figuring out and mitigating dangers of human spaceflight,” based on a NASA assertion.
CNN’s Jackie Wattles contributed to this report.