LIVE: Soyuz TMA-06M Undocking, Re-Entry and Landing - March 15/16 2013

[asmi]

You can imagine the power of the solid rocket "soft landing" rockets by the extent of the blackened snow around the capsule.  I wonder if any of the residue on the snow is toxic or is it "just clean soot"?

They are not toxic. At least safing and extraction instruction doesn't say anything about them being any sort of danger. There are only two dangers at the landed capsule - antenna cover which jettison 10 mins after the landing with quite powerful fireworks, and altimeter that is at the bottom (radioactivity source, only if capsule is on the side, if upright - no danger). All remaining properllant is vented after heatshield jettison.

[asmi]

PAO has confirmed that crew is going to Kostanay, and wrapped the coverage up.

[joek]

Shiver-me-timbers... Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.  ... Oh wait ... must be confusing that with something else.

Congrats to the crews and thanks again to the NSF team for the coverage.

[360-180]

You can imagine the power of the solid rocket "soft landing" rockets by the extent of the blackened snow around the capsule.  I wonder if any of the residue on the snow is toxic or is it "just clean soot"?

just clean soil

[jcm]

PAO has confirmed that crew is going to Kostanay, and wrapped the coverage up.

Hopefully we'll get a real landing time in the next few days.

[John44]

Expedition 34 - Soyuz TMA-06M Landing
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8138

Expedition 34 - Soyuz TMA-06M Landing Replay
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8139

Expedition 34 - Farewells and Hatch Closure (Inside ISS)
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8140

Expedition 34 - Soyuz TMA-06M Deorbit Burn and Landing Coverage
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8137

[Space Pete]

So, to summarise:

Following extraction from the Soyuz, the crew were flown approximately two hours via MI-8 helicopters to Kostanay airport.

From there, Oleg Novitsky and Evgeny Tarelkin boarded a Roscosmos Tu-134 aircraft for a flight back to Star City. Meanwhile, Kevin Ford boarded the NASA Gulfstream III aircraft for a flight back to Houston, with his first refuelling stop scheduled for Glasgow, Scotland.

You can track Ford's aircraft (tail number N992NA) here:
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA2
(Kazakhstan is outside of the tracking service area, but it should come in to range at some point.)

In the image from Bill Ingalls linked below, the Roscosmos Tu-134 and NASA GIII are both visible (see attachment).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/8561833924/sizes/l/in/photostream/

[jacqmans]

RELEASE: 13-076

SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS LAND SAFELY IN KAZAKHSTAN

HOUSTON -- Three members of the Expedition 34 crew undocked from the
International Space Station and returned safely to Earth on Friday,
wrapping up a mission lasting more than four and a half months.
Expedition 35 now is under way.

Station Commander Kevin Ford of NASA and Soyuz Commander Evgeny
Tarelkin and Flight Engineer Oleg Novitskiy of the Russian Federal
Space Agency undocked their Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft from the space
station at 6:43 p.m. CDT and landed northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan,
at about 10:10 p.m. (9:10 a.m., March 16, Kazakh time). The trio
arrived at the station Oct. 25, 2012, and spent 144 days in space,
142 of which were aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield is in command of
Expedition 35. He is the first Canadian to serve as station
commander. Hadfield and his crewmates, Tom Marshburn of NASA and
Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko will work aboard the station until
three additional crew members, including NASA astronaut Chris
Cassidy, arrive in late March.

Ford, Tarelkin, and Novitskiy orbited Earth 2,304 times and traveled
almost 61 million miles.

To follow Twitter updates from NASA's Expedition 35 astronauts, visit:


http://twitter.com/AstroMarshburn

and

http://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield

For more information about the International Space Station and its
crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

[jacqmans]

Expedition 34 Crew Lands (201303160001HQ)


Expedition 34 Russian Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin, left, Russian Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy, center, and Flight Commander Kevin Ford of NASA sit together at the Kustanay Airport a few hours after they landed near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan on Saturday, March 16, 2013. Ford, Novitskiy, and Tarelkin are returning from 142 days onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 33 and 34 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

[jacqmans]

http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=19958

[Artyom.]

Congrats on a successful touchdown  !

Welcome home  !

[Artyom.]

Expedition 34 Crew is greeted at Kustanay Airport in Kazakhstan.

https://twitter.com/nasahqphoto/status/312834157141172225

[Rocket Science]

Congrats and welcome home! Thanks for the great coverage.

[asmi]

<skipped>

Station Commander Kevin Ford of NASA and Soyuz Commander Evgeny
Tarelkin and Flight Engineer Oleg Novitskiy of the Russian Federal
Space Agency undocked their Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft from the space
station at 6:43 p.m. CDT and landed northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan,
at about 10:10 p.m. (9:10 a.m., March 16, Kazakh time).
<skipped>

It's the other way around - Oleg is Soyuz CDR, Evgeny is FE-1.

[Prober]

Navias now reporting he hears rescue copters are landing. Crew feels good.

"Everything seems to be in order".

JimO you are a natural person to pick this up and run with it.

[jcm]

http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=19958

Interesting that this link says

     16 марта в 07 часов 06 минут московского времени в заданном районе северо-восточнее города Аркалык (Республика Казахстан) совершил посадку спускаемый аппарат транспортного пилотируемого корабля (ТПК) «Союз ТМА-06М». Посадка прошла в штатном режиме.

in other words, touchdown time was 0306 UTC as planned, not 0308 or 0310 UTC as NASA were saying. I don't necessarily put more weight on this report, just noting the scatter - although 0306 seems more likely.

[robertross]

Thanks for the coverage all, especially Chris for that late nighter.

Glad they are safe and sound with looked like challenging landing area conditions

[Space Pete]

Kevin Ford's aircraft - NASA992 - is now within tracking range, currently heading out over the Atlantic Ocean having departed from Prestwick International Airport in Glasgow, Scotland.

Instead of going to CFB Goose Bay, Canada, the next stop will be Bangor International Airport in Maine, USA, currently 4h 30m away.

Track the flight here:
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA2

[John44]

Expedition 34 - Post-Landing Activities
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8142

[Space Pete]

NASA992 now on the ground in Bangor, Maine. Kevin Ford is back on US soil.

After a roughly 30 minute refuelling stop, NASA992 will begin the four hour flight to Ellington in Houston, with arrival scheduled for 9:06 PM local time (CDT) - almost exactly 23 hours after Ford's touchdown in Kazakhstan.