LIVE: Soyuz TMA-13M EOM Events (Undock, Entry, Landing) - November 9-10, 2014

[jacqmans]

November 9, 2014

Space Station Crew Returns to Earth, Lands Safely in Kazakhstan

Three International Space Station (ISS) crew members returned to Earth Sunday after a 165-day mission that included hundreds of scientific experiments and several spacewalks.

Expedition 41 Commander Max Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman of NASA and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency touched down northeast of the remote town of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan at 10:58 p.m. EST (9:58 a.m., Nov. 10, Kazakh time). While in space, they traveled more than 70 million miles.

During their time aboard the station, the crew participated in research focusing on Earth remote sensing, advanced manufacturing, and studies of bone and muscle physiology. They set a milestone for station science by completing a record 82 hours of research in a single week in July.

A key research focus during Expedition 41 was human health management for long duration space travel, as NASA and Roscosmos prepare for two crew members to spend one year aboard the space station beginning in 2015.

The crew welcomed five cargo spacecraft during its time aboard the orbiting laboratory. Two Russian ISS Progress cargo vehicles docked to the station, bringing tons of supplies in July and October. The fifth and final European Automated Transfer Vehicle, dubbed the Georges Lemaitre after the Belgian physicist who is considered the father of the big-bang theory, launched to the station in July.

In July, Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft completed its second resupply mission under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract. SpaceX launched its Dragon spacecraft to the station in September, the company's fourth commercial resupply mission.

Wiseman and Gerst ventured outside the confines of the space station for a planned spacewalk to relocate a failed pump module and configure the station for upcoming additions. Wiseman completed a second spacewalk with fellow NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore. Suraev also conducted one spacewalk during Expedition 41.

In addition to being a scientific research platform, the space station also serves as a test bed to demonstrate new technology. The first 3-D printer to be tested in space arrived at the station during Expedition 41. It will be the first step toward establishing an on-demand machine shop in space, which is a critical enabling component for deep space crewed missions and in-space manufacturing.

A new Earth monitoring instrument called RapidScat also was installed and activated on the station during the crew’s time in orbit. RapidScat will measure Earth's ocean surface wind speed and direction, essential measurements used in weather prediction.

Having completed his second space station mission, Suraev now has spent 334 days in space. Wiseman and Gerst have spent 165 days in space with the end of their first flights.

Expedition 42 now is operating aboard the station with Barry Wilmore of NASA in command. Wilmore and his crewmates, Flight Engineers Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova of Roscosmos, will tend to the station as a three-person crew until the arrival in two weeks of three new crew members: Terry Virts of NASA, Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency. Virts, Shkaplerov and Cristoforetti are scheduled to launch from Kazakhstan on Nov. 23 (U.S. time).

For more information on the International Space Station and its crews, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

For b-roll and other media resources, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/stationnews

For breaking news and features, follow the station on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Space_Station

[jacqmans]

Press Release
N°38-2014

Paris, 10 November 2014

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst returns to Earth

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst, Russian commander Maxim Suraev and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman returned to Earth today, landing in the Kazakh steppe.

Their return, landing at 03:58 GMT (04:58 CET), was in the same Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft that flew them to the International Space Station on 28 May.

Alexander is now flying straight to the European Astronaut Centre (EAC), the home base of all ESA astronauts in Cologne, Germany. ESA's medical team will monitor how he readapts to gravity after spending more than five months in weightlessness.


Media are invited to EAC on 13 November for his first public appearance. The one-hour event includes Alexander's first-hand report and covers the science experiments he ran in space.

Alexander performed over 50 experiments during his flight on the weightless research centre as it circled our planet 400 km up. In just two weeks, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will continue many of the experiments and begin new
ones when she is launched on her 'Futura' mission.

Highlights of Alexander's 'Blue Dot' mission included installing ESA's furnace that can suspend and cool molten metal in mid-air, a spacewalk to maintain and improve the Space Station, and the docking of Europe's last Automated Transfer
Vehicle - the largest spacecraft to supply the research centre.

A large selection of photographs from Blue Dot, most taken by Alexander himself, is available on the Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/astro_alex

The press conference at the European Astronaut Centre starts at 11:00 CET and will last for one hour, with a panel consisting of:

-- Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Brigitte Zypries, 
-- ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst, 
-- Director of Human Spaceflight and Operations and former ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter, 
-- Chairman of the Executive Board of the DLR German Aerospace Centre Johann Dietrich Wörner,
-- ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain.

The head of the European Astronaut Centre and ESA astronaut Frank De Winne as well as Johann Wörner, Thomas Reiter, and ESA experts will be available for interviews. For operational reasons, there will be no interviews with Alexander.

Media representatives can register for the event here: http://www.amiando.com/AlexanderGerst.html

[jacqmans]

Arrival of Alexander Gerst at CGN Cologne Airport

[Space Pete]

Glad the crew got down safe. Very interesting about Gerst returning directly to Cologne too!

[asmi]

Glad the crew got down safe. Very interesting about Gerst returning directly to Cologne too!

This is good for ESA - they've acquired enough experience with post-flight rehab to feel confident they can do it themselves. It's a good stepping stone in getting into HSF.

[Lewis007]

Crew welcoming ceremony in Kazakhstan & arrival of Surayev at Chkalovsky airfield.

[jacqmans]

[Space Pete]

Nice video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBAeI136jZk&feature=youtu.be

[jacqmans]

Gerst during a post flight press meeting today at DLR (photos DLR)

[Lewis007]

Gerst during a post flight press meeting today at DLR (photos DLR)

Link with news on the press conference.
http://www.dw.de/german-astronaut-gerst-sets-sights-on-mars/a-18060864

[jacqmans]

[Lewis007]

The ISS-40/41 crew was officially welcomed back in Star City on December 4.

For info, pics and videos, see:
http://www.gctc.ru/main.php?id=2816
http://www.gctc.ru/main.php?id=2818

[jacqmans]

The Soyuz TMA-13M capsule is now on display at DLR in Cologne, Germany. (I'm not sure if the public can see it also) (photos DLR)

[jacqmans]

At about 44 seconds into this film, you see a yellow car drive by (thats me on my way to the Tim Peake press conference last week at EAC) 

[jacqmans]