From Orbit to Kazakhstan
[Larger image] International Space Station Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt landed their Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft on the steppes of Kazakhstan Sunday, wrapping up a six-month stay. Joining them was spaceflight participant Guy Laliberte, who spent 11 days in space. Padalka, the Soyuz commander, guided the spacecraft to a parachute-assisted landing at 12:32 a.m. EDT at a site northeast of the town of Arkalyk.
[Larger image] International Space Station Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Michael Barratt landed their Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft on the steppes of Kazakhstan Sunday, wrapping up a six-month stay. Joining them was spaceflight participant Guy Laliberte, who spent 11 days in space. Padalka, the Soyuz commander, guided the spacecraft to a parachute-assisted landing at 12:32 a.m. EDT at a site northeast of the town of Arkalyk.
Russian recovery teams were on hand within minutes of landing to help the crew exit from the Soyuz vehicle and reacclimate to gravity. The crew members will return to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, outside of Moscow, for reunions with their families.
Padalka and Barratt spent 199 days in space and 197 days on the station after their March 26 launch. Laliberte launched with the Expedition 21 crew on a Soyuz vehicle Sept. 30 and returned after nine days on the station.
Padalka and Barratt presided over the inauguration of a six-person crew and two space shuttle assembly and resupply missions to the station. They also were station crew members during the delivery of tons of cargo and new science facilities for expanded research, and the arrival of the first Japanese H-II Transfer cargo vehicle.
The station now is occupied by Expedition 21 Commander Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency and Flight Engineers Roman Romanenko and Max Suraev of Russia, Bob Thirsk of the Canadian Space Agency and Nicole Stott and Jeff Williams of NASA.
For information about the space station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station
RSC Energia: October 11, 2009. S.P.Korolev RSC Energia, – Mission Control Center, Korolev, Moscow region
At 08:32, Moscow Time, Soyuz TMA-14 descent vehicle returned to Earth. All the operations associated with the descent, landing, search and rescue of the descent vehicle and the crew went normally.
Russian cosmonaut G. Padalka (commander of ISS-19/20, commander of Soyuz TMA-14) and NASA astronaut M.Barratt (flight engineer of ISS-19/20 and of Soyuz TMA-14) completed their mission to the International Space Station (ISS) under the program of Expedition ISS-19/20, and a spaceflight participant, Canadian citizen G. Laliberte has completed his mission under the program of the 17th visiting mission. An ESA astronaut, citizen of Belgium F. De Winne (crew commander), Russian cosmonauts R. Romanenko and M. Suraev, NASA astronauts N. Stott and J. Williams, an astronaut of Canadian Space Agency R. Thirsk continue their work onboard the Space Station under the program of Expedition ISS-21.
At the Mission Control Center near Moscow (MCC-M), the work in support of the Soyuz TMA-14 de-orbiting maneuvers and re-entry, the search for the landed descent vehicle and evacuation of the crew from it was performed under the supervision of the State Commission (The Chairman of the Commission is Head of the Federal Space Agency A.N. Perminov) and the Technical Management for flight tests of manned space systems (headed by President and General Designer of the S.P.Korolev RSC Energia V.A. Lopota).
During re-entry the Soyuz TMA-14 flight was controlled by the Lead Operations Control Team working at MCC-M in cooperation with the specialists of the Air and Space Search and Rescue (Rosaeronavigatsia), other Russian organizations and services, as well as the US Mission Control Center in Houston.
The final descent and landing operations were witnessed by the representatives of FSA, NASA, Russian companies and organizations involved in the ISS program, who were present at MCC-M.
After crew evacuation from the descent vehicle, a press conference was held at MCC-M for Russian and foreign journalists. Its participants included managers and representatives of Roscosmos, RSC Energia, NASA, prime companies in the Russian space industry.
For information:
RSC Energia is the prime organization for developing and operating the ISS Russian segment, its modules (Zvezda, Pirs, etc.), as well as Soyuz TMA and Progress spacecraft. Mission control for the ISS Russian Segment and the spacecraft is provided by the Lead Operations Control Team of MCC-M. The Flight Director is the RSC Energia first deputy general designer, pilot-cosmonaut V.A. Soloviev.
The descent vehicle of the spacecraft made a soft landing on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan at its target landing area to the north of the town of Arkalyk. The search and rescue facilities and specialists accomplished a prompt and immediate retrieval of the crew and the descent vehicle from the landing site.
The duration of the mission of G. Padalka and M. Barratt was about 198 days and 17 hours, the duration of the G. Laliberte’s mission was about 10 days and 21 hours.
