Sat, Mar 20, 2010
Returning Crew Members Helped Complete U.S. Portion Of The
Station
Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Max
Suraev landed their Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft on the steppes of
Kazakhstan Thursday, wrapping up a five-and-a-half-month stay
aboard the International Space Station.
File Photo
Suraev, the Soyuz commander, was at the controls of the
spacecraft as it undocked at 0403 EDT from the station's Poisk
module. The duo landed at 0724 at a site northeast of the Kazakh
town of Arkalyk.
Working in frigid temperatures, Russian recovery teams were on
hand at the landing site to help the crew exit the Soyuz vehicle
and readjust to gravity. The crew members will return to the
Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, outside of
Moscow.
Williams and Suraev launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 30, 2009. As
members of the Expedition 21 and 22 crews, they spent 167 days on
the station, presiding over the completion of the complex's U.S.
segment. The astronauts supported two space shuttle flights and
helped install the Tranquility module, the cupola viewing port and
a second Russian docking module. Scientific research aboard the
station continued to ramp up with the increase in available crew
time and laboratory facilities.
Williams now has logged 362 total days in space, placing him
fourth on the all-time U.S. list of long-duration space travelers.
Peggy Whitson, who has spent 377 days in space, tops that list.
The station now is occupied by Expedition 23 Commander Oleg
Kotov and Flight Engineers Soichi Noguchi and T.J. Creamer. A new
trio of Expedition 23 flight engineers -- Alexander Skvortsov,
Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko -- will launch from the
Baikonour Cosmodrome on April 2 and join the current station crew
with a docking on April 4.
More News
Runway Lead-in Light System Runway Lead-in Light System Consists of one or more series of flashing lights installed at or near ground level that provides positive visual guidance a>[...]
Aero Linx: Aviation Without Borders Aviation Without Borders uses its aviation expertise, contacts and partnerships to enable support for children and their families – at hom>[...]
Dave Juwel's Aviation Marketing Stories ITBOA BNITBOB ... what does that mean? It's not gibberish, it's a lengthy acronym for "In The Business Of Aviation ... But Not In The Busine>[...]
From 2010 (YouTube Version): Yeah.... This IS A Really Cool Job When ANN's Nathan Cremisino took over the lead of our Aero-TV teams, he knew he was in for some extra work and a lot>[...]
Also: Junkers A50 Heritage, Montaer Grows, Dynon-Advance Flight Systems, Vans' Latest Officially, the Carbon Cub UL and Rotax 916 iS is now in its 'market survey development phase'>[...]