Soyuz TMA-17M EOM Events (Undock, Entry, Landing) - December 11, 2015

[jacqmans]

December 04, 2015
MEDIA ADVISORY M15-168

NASA to Televise Return of Three Space Station Crew Members
 
NASA Television will provide complete coverage Friday, Dec. 11 of the departure of three crew members from the International Space Station and their return to Earth beginning at 1 a.m. EST.

Expedition 45 Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren of NASA, Oleg Kononenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will undock their Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft from the space station at 4:47 a.m. The crew members will land in Kazakhstan at 8:10 a.m. (7:10 p.m. Kazakhstan time). Their return will wrap up 141 days in space since their launch in late July.

Activities and NASA TV coverage are as follows:
•1 a.m. - Farewell and hatch closure coverage (hatch closure scheduled at 1:25 a.m.)
•4:30 a.m. - Undocking coverage (undocking scheduled at 4:47 a.m.)
•7 a.m. - Deorbit burn and landing coverage (deorbit burn scheduled at 7:17 a.m., with landing at 8:10 a.m.)
•10 a.m. - Video file of hatch closure, undocking and landing activities
•9 p.m. - Video file of landing and post-landing activities and post-landing interviews with Lindgren and Yui in Kazakhstan

At the time of undocking, Expedition 46 will begin aboard the station under the continued command of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly. Along with his crewmates Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov of Roscosmos, the three-person crew will operate the station for four days until the arrival of three new crew members. NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency) are scheduled to launch from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

Kelly and Kornienko are spending one year in space, twice the typical mission duration, to provide researchers the opportunity to advance their knowledge of the medical, psychological and biomedical challenges faced by astronauts during long-duration spaceflight.

For the NASA TV streaming video and schedule, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For more information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

[jacqmans]

Kjell Lindgren@astro_kjell   

We are coming home in 7 days. The time has flown by. Starting to prepare for our return. Spacesuits...check.

[jacqmans]

ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/7/15

Crew Departure Preparation:  Yui and Lindgren continued packing their personal items in preparation for crew return to Earth on Soyuz 43 (43S) on December 11th. The items will return by way of 43S, SpX-8, and SpX-9 vehicles.

[jacqmans]

ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/8/15

43S Crew Departure Preparation:  Yui and Lindgren prepared and transfered US cargo that will be returning to the ground via 43S.  They also continued to pack their personal items. The personal items will return by way of 43S, SpaceX-8, and SpaceX-9 vehicles.  Finally, Yui worked with Kononenko to perform a Motion Control Test on 43S.  The 43S Crew is scheduled to return to earth on December 11th.

43S Nominal Descent Drill #2:  Yui, Lindgren and Kononenko all participated in a nominal Soyuz Decent Drill.  As part of this training they reviewed preliminary undocking and descent data, then worked through the descent timeline (from Soyuz activation through post-landing activities).

[Chris Bergin]

Moved for live coverage.

[Chris Bergin]

Return article, thanks to Chris Gebhardt:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/12/soyuz-tma-17m-trio-return-earth/

[eric z]

  I don't know how the crew feels, but for me this expedition went by faster than ever... Here's to a Happy Landing tomorrow!

[Targeteer]

Kjell is up and around after his nap and checking in for assistance is drawing blood samples for the returnees before they come home. 

[Targeteer]

  I don't know how the crew feels, but for me this expedition went by faster than ever... Here's to a Happy Landing tomorrow!

They do go fast when they only last 143 days.  Despite that, there is a good chance the NASA PAO tonight, probably Rob Navias because he'll send someone else to the winter cold of Kazakhstan, will describe this as a "6 month stay on the ISS"...

[Targeteer]

MCC Moscow is receiving the final cargo loading update from the Cosmonauts

[Targeteer]

MCC-Houston is bidding farewell to the crew as part of the DPC.

[wxmeddler]

Hatch Closed: 12:32 AM Houston, 9:34AM Moscow.

[chewi]

Undocking is scheduled for 12:48 MSK (09:48 UTC).
https://twitter.com/fka_roscosmos/status/675203593188868097

[Star One]

For the first time ever on BBC radio I heard them mention an undocking event this morning! This of course was in relation to Tim Peake's flight but extra interest is always good.

[John44]

Expedition 45 - Farewells and Hatch Closure
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9697

[Chris Bergin]

Good morning boys and girls.

[Chris Bergin]

Rob Navias via the phone!

[Chris Bergin]

[Chris Bergin]

[Chris Bergin]

Extra long phone cord there!

[Chris Bergin]

Hatch closure.

[Chris Bergin]

6:19 am Central time for the deborbit burn.

[Chris Bergin]

Weather at the landing site is said to be "sporty" per Rob.

[Chris Bergin]

Post sunset night landing (rare).

[mtakala24]

I heard 700ft cloud ceiling, and some winds. It will also be a night landing, only the 6th ever for Soyuz.

[Chris Bergin]

Three mins to undocking. No KU from ISS yet.

[Chris Bergin]

Coming back now.

[Chris Bergin]

Hooks driving.

[Chris Bergin]

[Chris Bergin]

Expedition 46 begins at undocking.

[Chris Bergin]

Undocking confirmed.

[Chris Bergin]

Occurred over China.

[Chris Bergin]

Eight second sep burn complete.

[Chris Bergin]

There's Cygnus waving farewell!

[Chris Bergin]

Back in a few hours for the deorbit burn. We didn't get much coverage from the Soyuz of departure.

[Chris Bergin]

NASA TV coverage ending until the deorbit burn.

[Chris Bergin]

Scott Kelly was having fun inside the Cygnus ahead of the coverage ending. Rob correctly notes he will soon be joined by the first British CITIZEN to travel to the ISS next week.

[jacqmans]

Kjell Lindgren ‏@astro_kjell  ·

All loaded up! Farewell to our Exp 45 crewmates and the magnificent International @Space_Station! Hello Earth!!

[John44]

Expedition 45 - Soyuz TMA-17M Undocking
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9698

[Galactic Penguin SST]

I heard 700ft cloud ceiling, and some winds. It will also be a night landing, only the 6th ever for Soyuz.

Does anyone have a list of previous Soyuz night landings, starting with Soyuz 23?

[Targeteer]

Soyuz comms are on the ISS streaming feed but there is no translation...

[Targeteer]

Scott was just given updated times for window shutter openings and he now believes he may be able to photograph the vapor trail of re-entry.

[Chris Bergin]

Landing coverage.

[Chris Bergin]

[Chris Bergin]

17 mins to the deorbit burn.

[Prober]

sounds like a little rough in the landing area

[Prober]

4 min to deorbit burn

[Chris Bergin]

Deorbit burn begans, and live from the ISS (just).

[Chris Bergin]

Burn complete. Good burn.

[Prober]

Clock is up

[collectSPACE]

It will also be a night landing, only the 6th ever for Soyuz.

The sixth Soyuz night landing in International Space Station history, not Soyuz history. It is the first ISS Soyuz to land after sunset (the other five were between midnight and sunrise).

[Chris Bergin]

The weather at the landing site is very poor. Blizzard conditions. Crew will be transferred immediately to choppers.

[Prober]

32 min mark

[Prober]

a first (trying to setup for Zenit launch)

[Chris Bergin]

Still getting ISS views. They seem to be hoping to see something.

[Chris Bergin]

24 mins to landing.

[Prober]

getting close to entry interface

[Chris Bergin]

Entry Interface.

[Chris Bergin]

Loss of Comms, as per usual and totally expected (have to say it in case there's any new folk following).

[Chris Bergin]

Soyuz is beeping.

[Chris Bergin]

Will be surprised if we get any decent video based on the weather.

[Prober]

NASA & Tsenki feed

[Chris Bergin]

Waiting for chute deploy.

[Chris Bergin]

Call of "wonderful" from the Soyuz....but no chute deploy confirmation per Rob.

[Chris Bergin]

"Crew is feeling fine".

[Chris Bergin]

Oleg seems happy with things. Just can't confirm chute deploy, but clearly it happened.

[Prober]

Eight minutes to landing.

[Chris Bergin]

[Chris Bergin]

Soyuz spotted under chute.

[Prober]

they see her lights

[Prober]

[Chris Bergin]

Waiting for the screen to change to the landing confirmation.

[Chris Bergin]

Still waiting....

[Chris Bergin]

Five minutes past landing estimate. Not helping Rob Navias' phone bill

[Chris Bergin]

TOUCHDOWN! Welcome home guys!

"They've landed".

[Prober]

confirmed landing

[Chris Bergin]

Waiting for an official landing time, given the confirmation came only when they had eyes on....bad conditions delayed that.

[Chris Bergin]

Soyuz is on its side, per eyes on.

[Chris Bergin]

Due to the conditions, unlikely to get video. They won't be placed in the medical tent, they'll be placed on Choppers.

[Rocket Science]

Welcome home... We need to send some El Niño to the landing site!

[Prober]

video from the site

[InfraNut2]

There have been audio on NASA TV for a while that I am fairly sure must be from the landing site.

I did not understand a word but the positive mood and some Japanese among the all the Russian was encouraging.

Now finally video too!

[Prober]

ustream has the hd video

[Prober]

talking with family

[Prober]

time to go...

[InfraNut2]

Kjell getting vitals checked and on the satphone respectively.

[InfraNut2]

Probably fun to drive that vehicle.

[Prober]

building the platform

[InfraNut2]

Ladder assembled.

They are apparently going to upright the descent module before extracting cargo...

(It was on the side when extracting crew).

[Prober]

inside look soyuz

[mikes]

Ladder assembled.
They are apparently going to upright the descent module before extracting cargo...

Any idea why? It would seem a lot of effort resulting in more awkward access, so there must be a good reason.

[InfraNut2]

inside look soyuz

An additional one from tweet by Anatoly Zak.

[InfraNut2]

They showed a recorded clip from right after the recovery personnel reached the soyuz.

I was surprised they rolled the DM a bit to presumably get a better angle.

[InfraNut2]

End of NASA TV landing coverage.

[yoichi]

[jacqmans]

December 11, 2015
RELEASE 15-231

NASA Astronaut Kjell Lindgren Completes Space Station Mission, Safely Returns to Earth

Expedition 45 Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren of NASA is among three crew members who returned to Earth Friday after a 141-day mission aboard the International Space Station, landing in Kazakhstan at approximately 8:12 a.m. EST (7:12 p.m. Kazakhstan time).

Also returning were Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos (Russian Federal Space Agency) and Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The crew touched down northeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan, marking the first crew landing to occur after sunset and only the sixth nighttime Soyuz spacecraft return from the space station.

With the end of this mission, Kononenko now has spent 533 days in space, and Lindgren and Yui, both on their first flight, have spent 141 days in space.

While on station, the crew members participated in Earth observations and conducted research in the areas of physical, biological and molecular science to advance knowledge and demonstrate new technologies. Such investigations enable research breakthroughs and drive technology innovations that provide benefits on Earth, and will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration missions into deep space.

The space station is a test bed to demonstrate new technologies, and Lindgren and Yui took part in the Veggie plant growth experiment that yielded fresh lettuce for crew consumption in August. NASA is maturing Veggie technology aboard the space station to provide future pioneers with a sustainable food supplement -- a critical part of NASA’s journey to Mars.

As NASA moves toward long-duration exploration missions farther into the solar system, Veggie will be a resource for crew food growth and consumption. The system also could be used by astronauts for recreational gardening activities during deep space missions and may have implications for improving growth and biomass production on Earth, benefiting the average citizen.

Another key research area during Expedition 45 is the continued one-year mission with NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Roscosmos’ Mikhail Kornienko that is providing insight into human health management for long-duration space travel

The crew members also welcomed three cargo spacecraft during their mission. The fifth Japanese HTV cargo craft brought several tons of supplies to the station in August, and in October, a Russian ISS Progress cargo craft docked to the station, also bringing tons of supplies. On Dec. 9, Lindgren led the grapple of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft to the station, the U.S. company's fourth commercial resupply mission for NASA.

During his time on the orbiting complex, Lindgren ventured outside the confines of the space station for two planned spacewalks. The first included a variety of station upgrade and maintenance tasks, including routing cables to prepare for new docking ports for U.S. commercial crew spacecraft. The second spacewalk resulted in the successful reconfiguration of a space station ammonia cooling system.

Expedition 46 continues operating the station, with Kelly in command. Along with Kornienko and Sergey Volkov of Roscosmos, the three-person crew will operate the station for four days until the arrival of three new crew members. NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency) are scheduled to launch from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on Dec. 15.

For more information about the space station, including media resources, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

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

https://twitter.com/Space_Station 

[John44]

Expedition 45 - Soyuz TMA-17M Landing
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9699

[InfraNut2]

Congratulations Oleg Dmitriyevich, Yui-san and Dr. Kjell with a safe return!

And thanks for all the good work on orbit and before that too!

Now enjoy the simple but valuable pleasures of earth!

[ChrisC]

Ladder assembled.
They are apparently going to upright the descent module before extracting cargo...

Any idea why? It would seem a lot of effort resulting in more awkward access, so there must be a good reason.

Search this forum, it's likely been discussed before.  If you don't find anything, try other keywords.  If still nothing, ask in the Soyuz Q&A thread.

[ZachS09]

Another well done to Roskosmos safely bringing home Kononenko, Yui and Lindgren.

[yoichi]

panorama picture of landing site
http://www.asahi.com/panorama/151212soyuz/

[Lee Jay]

Does anyone know what that really bright, tall, orange light is?  Is it some sort of combustion light like a huge lantern or maybe a holder for a big flare or something?

[AnalogMan]

Does anyone know what that really bright, tall, orange light is?  Is it some sort of combustion light like a huge lantern or maybe a holder for a big flare or something?

See this post and those that follow:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=30333.msg981364#msg981364

[InfraNut2]

Love this overview picture of the Soyuz landing site!

(from tweet by Anatoly Zak who characterized it as "rather apocalyptic". That would not have been my choice of words, but it is sure looks like it could be from some epic movie)

[InfraNut2]

Love this overview picture of the Soyuz landing site!

"Down and dirty" - Another great one from Anatoly from right after landing. (from this tweet)

It gives a plausible answer to my question about why the DM was rolled a bit after landing.

Answer: To ease connection of "umbilicals"; It might also have been to avoid having the cosmonauts hanging face-down, which would complicate extraction slightly, but I am not sure how they are seated, relative to parachute bay and porthole, so I do not know whether this second answer is valid.

[ethan829]

Full-sized version from Flickr.

[TALsite]

Kjell Lindgren ‏@astro_kjell  ·

All loaded up! Farewell to our Exp 45 crewmates and the magnificent International @Space_Station! Hello Earth!!

See the picture of the cosmonauts seated inside the Soyuz DM....
The white protuberances between the cosmonaut's heads are the parachute containers

It gives a plausible answer to my question about why the DM was rolled a bit after landing.

Answer: To ease connection of "umbilicals"; It might also have been to avoid having the cosmonauts hanging face-down, which would complicate extraction slightly, but I am not sure how they are seated, relative to parachute bay and porthole, so I do not know whether this second answer is valid.

And now see the landing picture.  Knowing that both FEs have one window each, and the position of the (empty) parachute container above Lindgren's window, for me, the answer is to facilitate a more confortable position for cosmonauts in the extraction.

[jacqmans]

Kjell Lindgren:

‏Great to be back in Houston, TX.

[jacqmans]

油井 亀美也　Kimiya.Yui ‏@Astro_Kimiya 

I came back to Houston! ヒューストンへ帰ってきました！そこに待っていたのは、私の身体の到着を楽しみに待っていた方々(笑)。血液・尿検査、心電図、最大筋力発揮時に電流のショックを与える等々、充実した時間でした！

[Targeteer]

Video of the helicopters landing after picking up the returnees.  Looks cold.  https://www.facebook.com/ISS/videos/1094901430542787/

[Lewis007]

Tweet from Lindgren back home: "What happened when I told my wife that I missed the proximity to vacuum... "

[jacqmans]

MEDIA ADVISORY 16-044M

NASA Astronaut Kjell Lindgren to Visit NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center on April 14; Media Invited

NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, who lived and worked nearly five months on the International Space Station as a flight engineer, will visit NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on April 14. He will share highlights from his 141-day mission in space -- from July 23 through Dec. 11, 2015 -- as part of the Expedition 44 and 45 crews.

During his stay on the station, Lindgren performed numerous science experiments including research into human physiology, fluid and combustion physics, Earth and space science, and technology development. He worked on the "Veggie" investigation, which included the opportunity to eat lettuce grown in space. Lindgren conducted two spacewalks in late 2015 with NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, now retired. During the first, Lindgren installed a thermal cover on the Alpha-Magnetic Spectrometer, which looks for high-energy radiation emanating from deep space. The second focused on maintenance of the station's external thermal control systems.

Lindgren's visit to Marshall coincides with the annual Student Launch competition. Student teams from around the country are challenged with designing and building their rockets during the school year, before bringing their vehicles to Marshall for final inspections and launches. Lindgren will visit with those teams, talk about his career as an astronaut and present highlights from his mission to the space station beginning at 9:15 a.m. in Building 4316. A brief media opportunity will follow.

Media interested in covering Lindgren's visit should contact Tracy McMahan in the Marshall Public & Employee Communications Office at 256-544-0034 no later than 4 p.m. CDT, Wednesday, April 13. Media must report to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center at Gate 9, Interstate 565 interchange at Research Park Boulevard by 8:45 a.m. April 14. Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate. News media will need photo identification and proof of car insurance.

Lindgren's biography is available at:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lindgren-kn.pdf

Lindgren is also posting to social media:
www.twitter.com/astro_kjell

For more information on the space station, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station

[jacqmans]

April 21, 2016
MEDIA ADVISORY M16-044

NASA Astronaut Kjell Lindgren Visits Washington April 25-29

NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, who lived and worked nearly five months on the International Space Station as a flight engineer, will make multiple appearances across Washington April 25-29 to share highlights from his 141-day mission in space.

While in the nation’s Capital, he will make a public presentation in the Moving Beyond Earth Gallery at the National Air and Space Museum, throw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals ballgame, participate in multiple live social media events, and meet members of the public on the Mall at the Sylvan Theater.

Monday, April 25

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. EDT       

As part of National DNA Day, Lindgren will be one of the NASA participants in a Reddit Ask Me Anything to discuss some of the ongoing medical studies related to human spaceflight. Join the discussion at: https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/

Tuesday, April 26

11 a.m. - 12 p.m.   

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 600 Independence Ave SW, Washington

Lindgren will participate in a public presentation in the Moving Beyond Earth Gallery at the museum. He will share a crew video and participate in a Q&A session.

3 p.m. – 4 p.m.       

Lindgren will participate in a Facebook Live event for a Q&A session. Join the conversation online: www.facebook.com/nasa

6:45 p.m.

Nationals Park, 1500 S Capitol St SE, Washington   

Lindgren will throw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals game versus the Philadelphia Phillies. Game time is at 7:05 p.m.


Wednesday, April 27

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.                 

Washington Monument, National Mall, Washington

During a public event on the Mall at the Sylvan Theater, Lindgren will meet with an education specialist and fourth grade class on a field trip to the nation’s Capital. Lindgren will speak to the students and be available for a Q&A with members of the public.

Media interested in covering Lindgren's visit should contact Cheryl Warner at 202-358-1100.

Lindgren lived aboard the orbiting laboratory from July 23 through Dec. 11, 2015 and served as a crew member for Expeditions 44 and 45. He performed numerous science experiments including research into human physiology, fluid and combustion physics, Earth and space science, and technology development. He worked on the "Veggie" investigation, which included the opportunity to be one of the first to eat lettuce grown in space. Lindgren conducted two spacewalks in late 2015 with former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly. During the first, Lindgren installed a thermal cover on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, which looks for high-energy radiation emanating from deep space. The second focused on maintenance of the station's external thermal control systems.

Follow Lindgren on Twitter:

www.twitter.com/astro_kjell

For more information on the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

[Lewis007]

Video of Lindgren's mission presentation at the Smithsonian NASM on April 26.
A narrated 30-minute mission summary starts ~20 minutes into the video.
About the departure of the Cygnus cargo ship (loaded with trash) and subsequent re-entry, Lindgren's son commented: "One man's underwear is another man's shooting star."

Pics Lindgren's post-landing events can be found at the Flickr page of NASA HQ:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/albums