Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Alexander Samokutyaev closes hatches between the Soyuz and the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV
At 4:27 p.m. EST, hatches closed between the International Space Station and Soyuz TMA-13M. Expedition 41 crew members Reid Wiseman, Alexander Gerst and Soyuz Commander Maxim Suraev are preparing to undock at 7:31 p.m. NASA Television will air live coverage of undocking beginning at 7:15 p.m.
The deorbit burn is targeted for 10:05 p.m. and will lead to a landing at 10:58 p.m. northeast of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan. NASA TV coverage of deorbit and landing begins at 9:45 p.m. Watch live at https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.
(From left) Reid Wiseman, Alexander Gerst and Max Suraev say goodbye before entering their Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft. Credit: NASA TV.
Night time view of the docked Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft.
Watch NASA TV now for the farewell and hatch closure activities as the Expedition 41 trio gets set to return home tonight inside the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft… https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
Here is a timeline of the Expedition 41 undocking and landing.
Sunday, Nov. 9
EDT EVENT
3:45 p.m. NASA TV: Expedition 41 farewell & hatch closure coverage
4:10 p.m. Soyuz TMA-13M/space station hatch closure
7:15 p.m. NASA TV: Expedition 41 Soyuz TMA-13M undocking coverage
7:30 p.m. Soyuz undock command sent
7:31 p.m. Soyuz TMA-13M undocks from space station
7:34 p.m. Soyuz manual separation burn
9:45 p.m. NASA TV: Expedition 41 Soyuz TMA-13M deorbit burn and landing coverage
10:05 p.m. Soyuz TMA-13M deorbit burn (4 minutes, 41 seconds duration)
10:09 p.m. Soyuz deorbit burn complete
10:32 p.m. Soyuz module separation (altitude 87 miles)
10:35 p.m. Soyuz atmospheric entry (altitude 62 miles)
10:44 p.m. Command to open parachute (6.6 miles)
10:58 p.m. Expedition 41 Soyuz TMA-13M landing northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan.
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Watch astronauts put a waterproof camera inside a ball of water in microgravity.
Astronauts on the International Space Station are the “focus” of some of the first 3-D camera footage posted to a new playlist of 3-D videos on the agency’s official YouTube channel.
The new gallery includes a tour of the space station and astronauts exploring water surface tension in microgravity with both the 3-D camera and a miniature HD camera in a waterproof case inside a volleyball-sized water bubble. Standard two-dimensional versions of both the tour video and the water surface tension video are also available.
Meanwhile, the homebound Expedition 40/41 trio of Soyuz Commander Max Suraev and Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst spent Thursday morning reviewing their Soyuz undocking and descent activities ahead of their Nov. 9 landing in Kazakhstan. Their orbiting Expedition 41/42 crewmates Flight Engineers Barry Wilmore, Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova practiced emergency communication and coordination tasks.
At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, the Expedition 42/43 crew’s Terry Virts of NASA, Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency are making final preparations for launch Nov. 23 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz spacecraft that will deliver them for a 5 ½ month mission on the International Space Station.
And for the latest roundup of information on the space station, watch the latest edition of Space to Ground.
(From left) Expedition 40/41 crew members Alexander Gerst, Reid Wiseman and Max Suraev peer out of the cupola.
The homebound Expedition 40/41 trio of Soyuz Commander Max Suraev and Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst spent Thursday morning reviewing their Soyuz undocking and descent activities ahead of their Nov. 9 landing in Kazakhstan. Their orbiting Expedition 41/42 crewmates Flight Engineers Barry Wilmore, Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova practiced emergency communication and coordination tasks.
The crew also had time set aside for a variety of medical and physical science. Gerst conducted Ultrasound eye scans on Wilmore. Reid strapped on sensors and exercised for the Sprint study. Serova collected data for the Matryeshka radiation detection experiment. Suraev and Samokutyaev worked on cargo transfers and Soyuz preparations.
Expedition 42/43 crew members Terry Virts, Samantha Cristoforetti and Anton Shkaplerov are due to liftoff Nov. 23 aboard a Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft for a six hour ride to their new home in space. They were in Star City, Russia, for a news conference before going to Moscow for traditional pre-launch ceremonies.
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst works in the Columbus lab preparing the Biolab for future experiment work.
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst scanned his arteries then measured his body shape and size Wednesday. Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore joined Gerst for the scanning activities using an Ultrasound for the Cardio Ox experiment. NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman assisted Gerst with the Body Measures study.
Wiseman also scanned Wilmore’s retinas for the Ocular Health study. Gerst continued more work on the Aquatic Habitat in Japan’s Kibo lab module for the Zebrafish Muscle experiment.
In the Russian segment of the orbital laboratory, Commander Max Suraev continued packing gear inside the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft that he, Wiseman and Gerst will use to return to Earth on Nov. 9. Cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev assisted Suraev’s departure effort, checking the Iridium phones used in the Soyuz for emergency communications. Elena Serova participated in a psychophysiological evaluation, then inventoried gear in the Zarya module and Pirs docking compartment.
The next trio to launch to the station is getting ready for a news conference to be held Thursday in Star City, Russia, before going to Moscow for traditional pre-launch ceremonies. Expedition 42/43 crew members Terry Virts, Samantha Cristoforetti and Anton Shkaplerov are due to liftoff Nov. 23 aboard their Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft for a six hour ride to their new home in space.
ISS040-E-103506 (19 Aug. 2014) — In the grasp of the Japanese robotic arm, the CubeSat deployer is about to release a pair of NanoRacks CubeSat miniature satellites. The Planet Labs Dove satellites that were carried to the International Space Station aboard the Orbital Sciences Cygnus commercial cargo craft are being deployed between Aug. 19 and Aug. 25. The station’s Kibo laboratory is at top right. A blue and white part of Earth and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene.
NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore worked throughout Tuesday inside Japan’s Kibo laboratory to remove a Cubesat deployer from the laboratory’s airlock. The deployer experienced problems in August, when some of the mini satellites did not deploy as expected and later deployed spontaneously. Wilmore’s Expedition 41/42 crewmates Elena Serova and Alexander Samokutyaev worked throughout the day on maintenance and a variety of Russian physical and medical science experiments.
The homebound Expedition 40/41 trio, consisting of Soyuz Commander Max Suraev and Flight Engineers Alexander Gerst and Reid Wiseman, is counting down to its Nov. 9 departure inside the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft. They are packing gear to be returned home while they continue science and maintenance on the U.S. side of the International Space Station.
Back on Earth, the new Expedition 42/43 crew is getting ready for its launch to the space station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Nov. 23. Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov will be joined by NASA astronaut Terry Virts and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti aboard a Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft to begin a 5-1/2 month mission aboard the orbital laboratory.
European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst talks with members of the German Parliament and German space officials gathered in Berlin. Credit: NASA TV
Expedition 41 crew members Max Suraev and Alexander Gerst check procedures in the Destiny laboratory.
Expedition 41 Commander Max Suraev and Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst are in their final week aboard the International Space Station. All three homebound crew members spent time on Monday preparing for their departure. Expedition 41 will end Nov. 9 when it undocks inside the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft at 7:29 p.m. EST.
Gerst also drew his blood samples for stowage in a science freezer and he also worked on the Zebrafish Muscle experiment in the Kibo laboratory. Wiseman worked on plumbing tasks, then set up cameras for the Sally Ride EarthKAM experiment.
Meanwhile, NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore, who is staying in space until March, checked for leaks and worked on a fan in a U.S. spacesuit. His Expedition 41/42 crewmate Elena Serova sampled the station’s air and surfaces for microbes. Cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev transferred cargo from the ISS Progress 57 spacecraft then assisted Wiseman with the EarthKAM study.
Fourteen years ago on Nov. 2 the first International Space Station crew, Expedition 1, docked to the young orbital laboratory in their Soyuz TM-31 spacecraft. The space station at the time consisted of just three modules — the Unity node, the Zarya cargo module and the Zvezda service module. Commander William Shepherd and Flight Engineers Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko returned home aboard space shuttle Discovery after 141 days in space.
Expedition 41 astronauts (from left) Reid Wiseman, Barry Wilmore and Alexander Gerst talk to the Blue Angels pilots who visited Mission Control Center in Johnson Space Center Friday morning. Credit: NASA TV
The Expedition 41 trio of Reid Wiseman, Alexander Gerst and Max Suraev are returning home November 9. They checked their Sokol suits, which are worn during a Soyuz launch and entry, for leaks and started preparing for their departure.
NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore, who will be in space until March, worked on the Zebrafish Muscle experiment in Japan’s Kibo lab module. Cosmonaut Elena Serova participated in Crew Medical Officer training then moved on to a variety of science and maintenance tasks. Alexander Samokutyaev worked on cargo transfers from the new ISS Progress 57 resupply ship and preventative maintenance in the Pirs docking compartment.
Another space station crew is in Star City, Russia, counting down to its Nov. 23 launch to the orbital laboratory. Today is also the 14th anniversary of the launch of Expedition 1, the first crew to live and work aboard the International Space Station.
European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst talks to German journalists.
Cosmonauts Max Suraev and Alexander Samokutyaev opened the hatch to the ISS Progress 57 space freighter which arrived Wednesday morning. Suraev also joined NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman for descent training in advance of their Nov. 9 landing in the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft.
Flight Engineers Barry Wilmore and Alexander Gerst scrubbed cooling loops in the U.S. spacesuits throughout the day. Gerst also changed the water in the Kibo laboratory’s Aquatic Habitat.
Orbital Sciences Corp. has completed an initial assessment of its launch facility in Virginia after Tuesday night’s catastrophic failure of the Antares rocket.
Traveling about 261 miles over the Atlantic Ocean, the unpiloted ISS Progress 57 Russian cargo ship docked at 9:08 a.m. EDT to the Pirs Docking Compartment of the International Space Station.
The craft is delivering almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies, including 1,940 pounds of propellant; 48 pounds of oxygen; 57 pounds of air; 926 pounds of water; and 2,822 pounds of spare parts, supplies and experiment hardware for the six members of the Expedition 41 crew currently living and working in space. Progress 57 is scheduled to remain docked to Pirs for the next six months.
For more information about the current crew and the International Space Station, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/station.
The ISS Progress 57 is moments from docking to the Pirs Docking Compartment of the International Space Station.
