Soyuz Leaves International Space Station, En Route to Kazakhstan

The Expedition 7 crewmembers' stay at the International Space Station is over and they are scheduled to land in Kazakhstan tonight. The ISS Soyuz 6 spacecraft that is carrying Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu (left and right, below)undocked from the Station at 5:17 p.m. CST (2217 GMT) Monday. The Soyuz is slated to touch down about 8:41 CST tonight (0241 GMT Tuesday), bringing Expedition 7's six-month mission to an end. The deorbit burn will occur at 7:47 CST (0147 GMT).

Also aboard the Soyuz is European Space Agency Astronaut Pedro Duque, who arrived at the ISS on October 20 with the Expedition 8 crew. Duque spent his time aboard the orbital outpost conducting experiments for European scientists.

Earlier Monday, Malenchenko officially handed over control of the International Space Station to Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale. The handover occurred as the hatches between the Station and the ISS Soyuz 6 spacecraft were closed at 2:14 p.m. CST (2014 GMT). Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri will spend the next six months maintianing ISS systems and overseeing science experiments.

FMI: www.spaceflight.nasa.gov