Multi-National Soyuz MS-01 Crew Prepares for Weekend Return to Earth

Ten seconds shy of midnight EDT on Saturday, 29 October, three spacefarers from three sovereign nations will return to Earth after almost four months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition 49 Commander Anatoli Ivanishin of Russia, together with NASA’s Kate Rubins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, will have spent a little over 115 days in the microgravity environment, during which time they deftly supported hundreds of research experiments, oversaw the capture and berthing of two commercial visiting vehicles at the U.S. Orbital Segment (USOS), and supported a pair of long-overdue and critical EVAs. Tomorrow (Friday), Ivanishin will relinquish command of the space station to NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who will lead Expedition 50 through late February 2017.

Ivanishin, Rubins, and Onishi were launched from Site 1/5—the famed “Gagarin’s Start”—at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7:36 a.m. local time on 7 July (9:36 p.m. EDT on 6 July), flying into orbit on the maiden voyage of Russia’s upgraded Soyuz-MS spacecraft. Equipped with higher-efficiency solar arrays, better propulsion system redundancy, the new “Kurs-NA” (“Course”) rendezvous hardware, a lighter flight computer, and improved telemetry, control, and autonomous navigation capabilities, Soyuz MS-01 followed a longer-than-standard profile to reach the ISS. Instead of the six-hour, four-orbit rendezvous regime adopted by most Soyuz crews since March 2013, it was necessary to conduct a longer profile of two days and 34 orbits, in order to thoroughly test the new spacecraft’s systems. Specifically, this included Soyuz MS-01’s ability to communicate via Russia’s Luch-5 tracking and data-relay satellite network for up to 70 percent of each orbit.

At length, Ivanishin completed a smooth docking at the space station’s Earth-facing (or “nadir”) Rassvet module at 00:06 a.m. EDT on 9 July, approximately 50 hours after launch. They were welcomed aboard their new orbital home by Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams of NASA and his Russian crewmates Alexei Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka, who had been aboard since March. However, there existed little time to adapt, for a few days after the arrival of Ivanishin, Rubins, and Onishi, SpaceX launched its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS)-9 Dragon cargo mission. In addition to a full load of science hardware, the Dragon carried Boeing’s International Docking Adapter (IDA)-2 to provide an interface for future Commercial Crew vehicles. This was installed onto Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA)-3 at the forward end of the space station’s Harmony node during a five-hour-and-58-minute EVA by Williams and Rubins on 19 August.

Taking advantage of delays to Orbital ATK’s OA-5 Cygnus cargo mission, a “window” in the late August timeframe allowed NASA and its International Partners (IPs) to press ahead with a second EVA on 1 September. Williams and Rubins successfully retracted the Trailing Thermal Control Radiator (TTCR), which had been deployed back in 2012 to provide an interim cooling capability. Its retraction negates the risk of it suffering Micrometeoroid Orbital Debris (MMOD) damage and makes it available for possible future use. Returning inside after their two EVAs, Williams became the oldest U.S. spacewalker and Rubins now stands as the world’s sixth most experienced female spacewalker.

A few days later, on 6/7 September, Williams, Ovchinin, and Skripochka boarded their Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft, undocked from the station, and touched down smoothly in Kazakhstan. Shortly before undocking, Williams handed command of the ISS over to Ivanishin and Expedition 49 officially got underway as soon as Soyuz TMA-20M undocked. This was expected to leave Ivanishin, Rubins, and Onishi as a reduced crew of three for a couple of weeks, before Soyuz MS-02 launched from Baikonur on 23/24 September, carrying Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Andrei Borisenko, together with NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough. However, a technical problem with the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft forced a month-long delay, and Ryzhikov, Borisenko, and Kimbrough did not ultimately launch until 19 October. Following a 34-orbit rendezvous, they docked smoothly at the space-facing (or “zenith”) Poisk module on 21 October. And two days after that, Orbital ATK’s long-awaited OA-5 Cygnus cargo ship was successfully captured and berthed at the nadir port of the station’s Unity node.

Tomorrow (Friday), Ivanishin will ceremonially transfer command of the ISS from himself to Shane Kimbrough, thereby inaugurating Expedition 50, just a few days shy of the 16th anniversary since the first long-duration increment got underway on 2 November 2000. In marking 50 discrete expeditions, the ISS has greatly surpassed the 28 increments flown to the Mir space station between March 1986 and June 2000. Including Kimbrough’s increment, the ISS has seen 24 American and 23 Russian commanders, as well as one apiece from Europe, Canada, and Japan. Another European astronaut, Germany’s Alexander Gerst, will command the station in fall 2018.

Farewells between the six crew members will take place Friday, with hatch closure between Soyuz MS-01 and the Rassvet module expected to occur at 5:15 p.m. EDT. Ivanishin will assume the center commander’s seat for the return to Earth, flanked by Onishi in the left-side “Flight Engineer-1” couch and Rubins in the right-side “Flight Engineer-2” couch. They will spent the next several hours donning and leak-checking their Sokol (“Falcon”) launch and entry suits and readying the spacecraft for undocking. At 8:36 p.m. EDT, Ivanishin will command the hooks between Rassvet and the Soyuz to open, allowing springs to push them apart. Physical separation of the two space vehicles is scheduled about 90 seconds later, officially ending Expedition 49 and beginning Expedition 50.

Soyuz MS-01 will initially move away at a slowpoke pace of 0.4 feet (0.12 meters) per second, before Ivanishin executes an eight-second engine “burn” at 8:40 p.m. EDT. This will increase the departure rate to 1.74 feet (0.53 meters) per second, by which time the spacecraft will have reached approximately 50-65 feet (15-20 meters) from the orbital outpost. Moving further out, Soyuz MS-01 will fire its engines for 21 seconds at 8:46 p.m. EDT, further increasing the rate of departure to 5.3 feet (1.63 meters) per second.

Sunrise over the desolate Kazakh steppe will occur at 8:04 a.m. local time Saturday (10:04 p.m. EDT Friday), with an area about 87 miles (140 km) northwest of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan being targeted as the primary landing site. About an hour before touchdown, Russian Mi-8 recovery and rescue helicopters will take to the air from Dzhezkazgan. By this point, around 2.5 hours will have passed since Ivanishin, Rubins, and Onishi undocked from the space station. At 11:06:36 p.m. EDT Friday, Ivanishin will execute the “deorbit burn,” committing Soyuz MS-01 to a perilous and fiery descent back through Earth’s atmosphere. By this stage, the spacecraft will occupy an orbit of 267 miles (429.8 km). The burn will run for four minutes and 38 seconds and will dramatically slow the spacecraft by about 420 feet (128 meters) per second.

Shortly thereafter, the crew will be instructed to close their visors. Twenty-seven minutes after the deorbit burn, at 11:33 p.m. EDT, the spherical orbital module and cylindrical instrument module will be jettisoned, leaving the bell-shaped descent module alone against the furnace heat of re-entry. By this stage, Soyuz MS-01’s altitude will have dropped to 86.8 miles (139.8 km), with a little more than 25 minutes remaining before touchdown. At the landing site, it will be 9:33 a.m. on Saturday morning and the Mi-8 helicopters should be in position, flying an oval-shaped “racetrack” pattern, as they await the arrival of Ivanishin, Rubins, and Onishi. “Entry Interface”—the point at which the descent module begins to feel the brunt of thermal stress—will occur at 11:36:34 p.m. EDT, at an altitude of 327,756 feet, or 62 miles (100 km).

After passing through the worst of re-entry heating at about 11:42:55 p.m. EDT, Soyuz MS-01 will emerge from plasma at an altitude of 109,580 feet, or 20.7 miles (33.4 km). Its twin pilot parachutes will be deployed at 6.6 miles (10.7 km), followed by the 258-square-foot (24-square-meter) drogue and, finally, the 10,764-square-foot (1,000-square-meter) main canopy. Recovery forces will confirm the successful parachute deployments and will establish voice communications with the crew, as Soyuz MS-01 heads toward the Central Asian steppe. The main canopy will slow the spacecraft’s descent rate to 23.6 feet (7.2 meters) per second and its harnesses will first orient the Soyuz at a 30-degree angle to expel heat, before shifting it to a straight-vertical final descent.

Although slowed significantly, this is still not enough for a safe landing. Two seconds and just 2.6 feet (0.8 meters) before hitting the ground, six solid-fueled rockets in the descent module’s base will ignite to reduce the descent rate to just 5 feet (1.5 meters) per second. Touchdown of Soyuz MS-01 at co-ordinates 47.18 degrees North latitude and 69.35 degrees East longitude is scheduled for 11:59:50 p.m. EDT Friday (9:59:50 a.m. local time Saturday), about 3.5 hours after departing the ISS. Ivanishin, Rubins, and Onishi will be home after a remarkable expedition which will have lasted 115 days, 2 hours, and 22 minutes.

When one counts a handful of shorter increments in the 2008-2009 timeframe—by European astronaut Leopold Eyharts and NASA flyers Garrett Reisman, Tim Kopra, and Nicole Stott—the flight of Ivanishin, Rubins, and Onishi represents the fifth-shortest expedition in ISS Program history. However, since Eyharts, Reisman, Kopra, and Stott flew for only part of a longer expedition, Ivanishin’s crew actually sits in first place for the shortest single increment ever undertaken aboard the ISS. Initially scheduled to launch on 20/21 May 2016, they were delayed for operational and technical reasons into the late June and eventually early July. At the same time, their return date at the end of October remained unchanged, thus shortening their original 160-day mission by around 30 percent.

Want to keep up-to-date with all things space? Be sure to “Like” AmericaSpace on Facebook and follow us on Twitter: @AmericaSpace

Posts associated with the ISS missions Next Cygnus Cargo Ship Named for Columbia Astronaut Kalpana Chawla Second-Heaviest Cygnus, Antares Booster Processing Ramps Up for NG-14 Mission Next Cygnus Supply Mission Targets 29 Sept Launch to Space Station Rubins, Crewmates Discuss Upcoming Space Station Mission Demo-2 Docks at Space Station, Expedition 63 Expands to Five Crew T-1 Day: NASA, SpaceX Ready to Bring Human Spaceflight Back to America (Part 2) NASA, SpaceX Ready to Return Human Spaceflight to American Soil (Part 1) Astronauts Arrive in Florida for Launch Next Week on SpaceX Demo-2 Mission Starlink Mission Slips to NET June; Demo-2 Next Up for SpaceX Cygnus Departs Space Station; 2 Weeks of SAFFIRE Experiments Planned NASA, SpaceX Preview First Crewed Dragon Mission, Set for May 27 Launch NG-13 Cygnus Begins ISS Chase with 8,000 Pounds of Cargo for Space Station Antares to Launch NG-13 ISS Resupply Tonight from VA, Spacecraft Named After Robert Lawrence SpaceX Crew Dragon Inflight Abort Test Video Antares Ready for Saturday Launch from Virginia to Resupply ISS (NG-12) Antares to Launch NG-11 Cygnus from VA April 17, Honors Apollo 1 Hero Roger Chaffee Crew Dragon Kicks Off Demo-1 Mission to Return Human Spaceflight to American Shores Decade-Long Crew Dragon Program Stands Ready for Maiden Mission (Part 2) Decade-Long Crew Dragon Program Stands Ready for Maiden Mission (Part 1) NASA Clears SpaceX to Launch Crew Dragon ‘Demo-1’ on March 2 First Crew Dragon Demo On Track for Late-Night Launch March 2 Good Test Fire for First Crew Dragon Mission Paves Way to Launch NET Late February Cygnus Arrives at Space Station with 7,400 Pounds of Fresh Supplies and Science Antares Launches Ninth Cygnus Cargo Delivery Mission to Space Station SpaceX Launches Fourth Dragon of 2017, Nails 20th Landing with CRS-13 Mission NASA Astronaut Bresnik and Crewmates Return to Earth From Space Station SLC-40 Ready for Return to Flight, With Fourth ISS-Bound Dragon of 2017 SpaceX Says New Improved SLC-40 Ready for Launches Again Following CRS-13 Test Fire Orbital ATK Honors Veterans With Rousing Launch of OA-8 Cygnus to Space Station How to Photograph the ISS Transiting the Moon and Sun SpaceX Launches Third Dragon of 2017 to Space Station, Lands 6th Rocket on LZ-1 Storms Threaten Post-Landing Securing of Falcon 9 First Stage on Monday UPDATE: Good Falcon 9 Test Fire as SpaceX Aims for Aug 14 CRS-12 Launch PHOTOS: SpaceX CRS-11 Launch and Landing First Reusable Dragon Cargo Mission Launches Science and Supplies to Space Station ‘Godspeed, John Glenn’: Cygnus Soars Atop Atlas-V on Voyage to Space Station John Glenn to Return to Space ‘In Spirit’ on ISS-Bound OA-7 Cygnus Cargo Mission NASA Outlines Science Payloads, Ahead of Next ISS-Bound Cygnus Cargo Mission SpaceX Soars from 39A for First Time, Delivers Dragon to Space & Returns Falcon to Earth Pad 39A Set for First Post-Shuttle Launch, as SpaceX Readies for Weekend Return to Space Station NASA Outlines Science Heading to Space Station Aboard CRS-10 Dragon Future Space Station Crew Discusses ISS Expedition Multi-National Soyuz MS-01 Crew Prepares for Weekend Return to Earth Soyuz Docking Restores Space Station to Full Crew Strength Through the Lens: Antares Returns to Flight on OA-5 Mission for NASA Antares Returns to Flight, Delivering OA-5 Cygnus to Space Station Virtual Reality Meets Space Tourism: World’s First VR Satellite To Be Launched in 2017 SpaceX Nails Launch and Landing Again, Dragon CRS-9 Now En Route to Space Station Critical Science, Commercial Crew Hardware Headed to Space Station Aboard CRS-9 Dragon Doorway to the Future: 15 Years Since STS-104 (Part 1)

Posts associated with the ISS missions Next Cygnus Cargo Ship Named for Columbia Astronaut Kalpana Chawla Second-Heaviest Cygnus, Antares Booster Processing Ramps Up for NG-14 Mission Next Cygnus Supply Mission Targets 29 Sept Launch to Space Station Rubins, Crewmates Discuss Upcoming Space Station Mission Demo-2 Docks at Space Station, Expedition 63 Expands to Five Crew T-1 Day: NASA, SpaceX Ready to Bring Human Spaceflight Back to America (Part 2) NASA, SpaceX Ready to Return Human Spaceflight to American Soil (Part 1) Astronauts Arrive in Florida for Launch Next Week on SpaceX Demo-2 Mission Starlink Mission Slips to NET June; Demo-2 Next Up for SpaceX Cygnus Departs Space Station; 2 Weeks of SAFFIRE Experiments Planned NASA, SpaceX Preview First Crewed Dragon Mission, Set for May 27 Launch NG-13 Cygnus Begins ISS Chase with 8,000 Pounds of Cargo for Space Station Antares to Launch NG-13 ISS Resupply Tonight from VA, Spacecraft Named After Robert Lawrence SpaceX Crew Dragon Inflight Abort Test Video Antares Ready for Saturday Launch from Virginia to Resupply ISS (NG-12) Antares to Launch NG-11 Cygnus from VA April 17, Honors Apollo 1 Hero Roger Chaffee Crew Dragon Kicks Off Demo-1 Mission to Return Human Spaceflight to American Shores Decade-Long Crew Dragon Program Stands Ready for Maiden Mission (Part 2) Decade-Long Crew Dragon Program Stands Ready for Maiden Mission (Part 1) NASA Clears SpaceX to Launch Crew Dragon ‘Demo-1’ on March 2 First Crew Dragon Demo On Track for Late-Night Launch March 2 Good Test Fire for First Crew Dragon Mission Paves Way to Launch NET Late February Cygnus Arrives at Space Station with 7,400 Pounds of Fresh Supplies and Science Antares Launches Ninth Cygnus Cargo Delivery Mission to Space Station SpaceX Launches Fourth Dragon of 2017, Nails 20th Landing with CRS-13 Mission NASA Astronaut Bresnik and Crewmates Return to Earth From Space Station SLC-40 Ready for Return to Flight, With Fourth ISS-Bound Dragon of 2017 SpaceX Says New Improved SLC-40 Ready for Launches Again Following CRS-13 Test Fire Orbital ATK Honors Veterans With Rousing Launch of OA-8 Cygnus to Space Station How to Photograph the ISS Transiting the Moon and Sun SpaceX Launches Third Dragon of 2017 to Space Station, Lands 6th Rocket on LZ-1 Storms Threaten Post-Landing Securing of Falcon 9 First Stage on Monday UPDATE: Good Falcon 9 Test Fire as SpaceX Aims for Aug 14 CRS-12 Launch PHOTOS: SpaceX CRS-11 Launch and Landing First Reusable Dragon Cargo Mission Launches Science and Supplies to Space Station ‘Godspeed, John Glenn’: Cygnus Soars Atop Atlas-V on Voyage to Space Station John Glenn to Return to Space ‘In Spirit’ on ISS-Bound OA-7 Cygnus Cargo Mission NASA Outlines Science Payloads, Ahead of Next ISS-Bound Cygnus Cargo Mission SpaceX Soars from 39A for First Time, Delivers Dragon to Space & Returns Falcon to Earth Pad 39A Set for First Post-Shuttle Launch, as SpaceX Readies for Weekend Return to Space Station NASA Outlines Science Heading to Space Station Aboard CRS-10 Dragon Future Space Station Crew Discusses ISS Expedition Multi-National Soyuz MS-01 Crew Prepares for Weekend Return to Earth Soyuz Docking Restores Space Station to Full Crew Strength Through the Lens: Antares Returns to Flight on OA-5 Mission for NASA Antares Returns to Flight, Delivering OA-5 Cygnus to Space Station Virtual Reality Meets Space Tourism: World’s First VR Satellite To Be Launched in 2017 SpaceX Nails Launch and Landing Again, Dragon CRS-9 Now En Route to Space Station Critical Science, Commercial Crew Hardware Headed to Space Station Aboard CRS-9 Dragon Doorway to the Future: 15 Years Since STS-104 (Part 1)

Posts associated with the Soyuz TMA-M missions Future Space Station Crew Discusses ISS Expedition Multi-National Soyuz MS-01 Crew Prepares for Weekend Return to Earth Soyuz Docking Restores Space Station to Full Crew Strength New Crew Begins Two-Day Voyage to Space Station Multi-National Crew to Launch to Space Station Aboard First Soyuz-MS Spacecraft Expedition 47 Crew Returns Safely to Earth After Six-Month ISS Mission Expedition 47 Return Extended to 18 June to Support ‘Heavy Scientific Research Work’ Jeff Williams and ‘Sardines’ Top the U.S. Spaceflight Experience Table America’s Next Record-Breaker Rockets to Orbit for Six-Month Mission Last Soyuz TMA-M Crew Ready for Friday Launch to Space Station Three Spacefarers From Three Nations Discuss Four-Month Mission to Space Station Scott Kelly Considers Journey to Mars as Doable in Post-Landing Remarks About One-Year Mission Kelly and Kornienko’s Year-Long Mission Paves Way for Journey to Mars Kopra Assumes Command of Expedition 47, Ahead of One-Year Crew Return to Earth One-Year Crew Prepares to Depart Space Station for Return to Earth Into the Homestretch: Kelly and Kornienko to Pass 300 Days in Space, Heading for 2 March Return to Earth US and UK Spacewalkers Repair, Replace, Remove, and Install Hardware Outside Space Station Kopra and Peake Primed for Friday Spacewalk Three New Crew Members Talk About Upcoming Space Station Expedition Expedition 46 Spacewalkers Secure Mobile Transporter, Ahead of Progress-MS Arrival at Space Station Three New Crew Headed to Space Station Tomorrow Aboard Soyuz TMA-19M ‘What an Honor’: Space Station Crew Prepares for Friday Return to Earth Expedition 45 Crew to Celebrate Thanksgiving With Turkey and Candied Yams Aboard Space Station Expedition 45 Spacewalkers Set to Restore Troublesome P-6 Cooling System to ‘Default Setting’ First-Time Spacewalkers Complete EVA-32, Ahead of ‘Extremely Busy’ Winter of Resupply Operations Record Breaker: Scott Kelly Becomes Most Experienced US Astronaut Tomorrow Kelly and Kornienko Head Into Second Half of Year-Long Mission; Two US EVAs on Tap in October-November Kelly to Become First Two-Time US Space Station Commander Soyuz TMA-16M Crew Prepares for Spacecraft Switch, Ahead of Soyuz TMA-18M Arrival Soyuz TMA-17M Crew Rockets to Orbit, Bound for Five Months Aboard Space Station – UPDATE All-Civilian Soyuz TMA-17M Crew Ready for Wednesday Launch to Space Station (Part 2) All-Civilian Soyuz TMA-17M Crew Ready for Wednesday Launch to Space Station (Part 1) After 28 Weeks in Orbit, Multi-National Soyuz TMA-15M Crew Returns Safely to Earth Second-Longest Space Station Expedition to End Thursday NASA, ESA Confirm Soyuz TMA-15M Landing Delay; Sarah Brightman Postpones Mission Cristoforetti Set for Endurance Record, as Expedition 43 Return Reportedly Delayed to Mid-June New Crew Settles In While Ongoing Research Continues for Expedition 43 on ISS Scott Kelly Describes Return to Space Station as ‘Coming to My Old Home’ One-Year Mission Underway With Rousing Soyuz TMA-16M Launch Ambitious One-Year Mission Counting Down to Friday Launch (Part 2) Identical Twin, Former Paratrooper, and Ecologist to Launch Friday Aboard Soyuz TMA-16M (Part 1) ‘Off On the Right Foot’: Expedition 43 Underway at Space Station Soyuz TMA-14M Crew Returns to Earth After 167-Day Mission Soyuz TMA-14M Crew to Depart Space Station Wednesday After 5.5-Month Mission Hardware Movement and Reconfiguration to Highlight Space Station Operations in 2015 (Part 2) Hardware Movement and Reconfiguration to Highlight Space Station Operations in 2015 (Part 1) ‘For the Long Haul’: NASA and International Partners Ready for Record-Setting 2015 Aboard Space Station Newton’s Apple and Soyuz Rocket Grace Tim Peake’s ‘Principia’ Mission Patch New Crew Settles In Aboard Space Station, Ready for Six-Month Mission Soyuz TMA-15M Rockets to Orbit to Complete Expedition 42