Last night two Russian cosmonauts and American space tourist Richard Garriott departed from the International Space Station for their return to Earth.
Space station commander Sergei Volkov and flight engineer Oleg Kononenko undocked their Russian Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft from the station at about 8:15 p.m. EDT (0015 Oct. 24 GMT). The deorbit burn to slow the Soyuz and begin its descent toward the Earth took place at 10:45 a.m and landed on the Central Asian plains of Kazakhstan at about 11:37 p.m. EDT (0336 GMT). All three people aboard the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft were reported to be in good condition after their re-entry and landing. A Russian recovery team and NASA personnel reached the landing site by helicopter shortly after the Soyuz touched down. They helped the crew members into reclining chairs for medical tests and set up a medical tent nearby.
You may recall that the last two Soyuz vehicles to return to Earth in April and October 2007 landed in a backup ballistic mode, which touched down off-target and subjected their three-astronaut crews to higher than normal G-forces, after a separation failure prevented the three-segment spacecraft from separating properly. Russian engineers believe a failed explosive bolt to be the cause.
In July, Volkov and Kononenko removed the suspect bolt from their own TMA-12 spacecraft during a spacewalk. Russian engineers have also come up with new software to keep the Soyuz on target during tonight’s landing as it reenters the Earth’s atmosphere, Volkov said Monday.
Garriott, who paid $30 million for his 10-day flight to the space station under a deal between Russia’s Federal Space Agency and the Vienna, Virginia-based firm Space Adventures, is confident in the Soyuz spacecraft and is fully prepared for the extra stress on his body. An Austin, Texas-based computer game developer, Garriott (aka Lord British) created the popular Ultima online computer game series and is the sixth paying visitor to the International Space Station. “I have no concerns about reentry … I’m excited about the trip home regardless,” Garriott told reporters, adding that he has simulated the extra gravitational loads, that can reach more than eight times Earth’s gravity in a centrifuge on Earth. “I think that even if we were to have a ballistic reentry, it’s something of course I’ll tolerate well, but it also doesn’t alarm me in any way.”
Garriott is also the son of former NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, who flew aboard the U.S. Skylab space station and shuttle Columbia in the 1970s and 1980s, and plans to greet his son at the landing site. The younger Garriott is the first second-generation American spaceflyer. By coincidence, the younger Garriott is also flying with a Russian spaceflight legacy. Volkov is the son of famed Russian cosmonaut Alexander Volkov, and made history during his April launch when he became the first second-generation cosmonaut to reach space. Garriott was launched to the station on October 12 with Expedition 18 commander Michael Fincke and flight engineer Yury Lonchakov, who are replacing Volkov and Kononenko as the cosmonauts complete their own six-month Expedition 17 mission.
“It’s kind of sad to see our guys leaving the space station, but it’s time for them to go home,” Lonchakov said on Wednesday. “I wish you a successful landing and we’ll see you back on Earth.” Fincke and Lonchakov joined the third member of their crew, NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff, already aboard the station. Chamitoff joined the station’s Expedition 17 crew and will stay on for the first stage of Expedition 18 until his relief arrives with NASA’s shuttle Endeavour next month.
On Wednesday, Volkov handed control over to Fincke and his Expedition 18 crew and wished his fellow space travelers well as they work to install new equipment over the next few months that will set the stage for larger crews. “These guys have a lot of difficult tasks ahead of them and I want to wish them success,” Volkov said.
