The trio of Barry Wilmore, Alexander Samokutyaev, and Elena Serova returned back to Earth on Wednesday following their 167 day stay on the International Space Station.
Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova arrived at the International Space Station in September 2014. Wilmore and Samokutyaev had both already been to space in previous missions, whereas for Elena Serova, this was her first time orbiting the Earth. The crew were members of Expeditions 41 and 42
Wilmore was involved in three major spacewalks towards the end of his stay. With the aid of Terry Virts, the spacewalks successfully managed to begin the configuration of the ISS to accept American commercial crew, expected to begin in early 2017 with SpaceX’s first crewed demo mission.
The descent back to Earth was a little troublesome, but ultimately successful. A loss of communications during the deorbit burn was initially very worrisome, but to the relief to the scientists back on Earth, the communications were re-established and audio with the crew resumed. After re-entry, the Soyuz capsule released its parachutes and slowed down to an acceptable descent rate. Following a bumpy, but successful landing in Kazakhstan, the crew were extracted from the capsule and taken away. Samokutyaev and Serova have been flown back to Star City in Russia, and Wilmore has been flown back to Houston, Texas.
The International Space Station, which usually is home to 6 people, is currently down to just 3 following the departure of Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova. The ISS will return to its full complement later this month when the Soyuz rocket launches Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly to the Station on the 27th March. This mission will be particularly historic as Kelly and Kornienko are expected to spend a full year aboard the ISS in order to collect valuable data regarding the biological impact of being in space for an extended period, something that is necessary to understand if humans are ever to leave Earth’s orbit.
Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova arrived at the International Space Station in September 2014. Wilmore and Samokutyaev had both already been to space in previous missions, whereas for Elena Serova, this was her first time orbiting the Earth. The crew were members of Expeditions 41 and 42
Wilmore was involved in three major spacewalks towards the end of his stay. With the aid of Terry Virts, the spacewalks successfully managed to begin the configuration of the ISS to accept American commercial crew, expected to begin in early 2017 with SpaceX’s first crewed demo mission.
The descent back to Earth was a little troublesome, but ultimately successful. A loss of communications during the deorbit burn was initially very worrisome, but to the relief to the scientists back on Earth, the communications were re-established and audio with the crew resumed. After re-entry, the Soyuz capsule released its parachutes and slowed down to an acceptable descent rate. Following a bumpy, but successful landing in Kazakhstan, the crew were extracted from the capsule and taken away. Samokutyaev and Serova have been flown back to Star City in Russia, and Wilmore has been flown back to Houston, Texas.
The International Space Station, which usually is home to 6 people, is currently down to just 3 following the departure of Wilmore, Samokutyaev and Serova. The ISS will return to its full complement later this month when the Soyuz rocket launches Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly to the Station on the 27th March. This mission will be particularly historic as Kelly and Kornienko are expected to spend a full year aboard the ISS in order to collect valuable data regarding the biological impact of being in space for an extended period, something that is necessary to understand if humans are ever to leave Earth’s orbit.