A Russian-American crew returning from the ISS landed in Kazakhstan
Three ISS crew members returned to Earth - two Russians and one American. The current descent took place against the background of a sharp deterioration in relations between Russia and the United States, which is why the NASA astronaut will have to get home by a roundabout way around Russian territory.
The crew returning from the ISS landed on the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft in Kazakhstan. Anton Shkaplerov, Pyotr Dubrov and American Mark Vande Hai completed their stay at the station.
Vande Hai and Dubrov went into orbit on April 9, 2021 - they stayed at the station for 355 days. With this flight, Vande Hai broke the record for the duration of continuous stay in space for American astronauts, which previously amounted to 340 days. For him, this mission was the second, he spent 523 days in space in total. Shkaplerov had previously flown into orbit three times and spent 708 days there, including this mission, Dubrov was in space for the first time.
On the eve of the ship's undocking from the ISS, Shkaplerov handed over command of the station to American Tom Marshburn.
After the undocking of the spacecraft with the station, which occurred at 10:21, Dubrov for the first time conducted a survey of the Russian segment of the ISS in the final configuration, with the attached module "Science". Then, at about 13:30, the ship's engines were turned on for a braking maneuver, and half an hour later the household and instrument-aggregate compartments separated from the descent vehicle. They burned up in the dense layers of the atmosphere, and the ship descended about 140 kilometers south-east of the city of Zhezkazgan.
It is impossible to predict the exact landing site, so first the ship was found with the help of helicopters, and only then technical specialists and doctors were sent to the detected landing point.
This landing takes place against the background of an unprecedented aggravation of relations between Russia and Western countries due to the special operation in Ukraine. Serious sanctions have been imposed, in particular, planes from Russia are prohibited from flying to the United States and many European countries, Russia has introduced mirror measures. The Golfstream plane, on which Vande Hai will travel to the USA, will also have to change the route.
"Unlike previous similar returns, the NASA aircraft will be forced to fly around Russian airspace," the newspaper writes Nasaspaceflight.com . Vande High will be in Houston 24 hours after landing.
However, the ISS crew members themselves are trying to distance themselves from conflicts on Earth and maintain good relations with representatives of other countries.
- said Shkaplerov.
He spoke humorously about the downed by Russia satellite "Cosmos-1408", the wreckage of which, according to many astronomers, threatened the ISS. "Unfortunately, we have had several emergencies, but not very dangerous ones. It was as if some space satellites were trying to kill us, but we worked together," he said.
Upon landing, the capsule fell on its side, not vertically. This created an inconvenience for the ground crew, but it does not pose any danger. Shkaplerov was pulled out of the ship first and poured tea from a thermos. Someone asked if tea tasted better on Earth, to which the cosmonaut replied: "Yes. The native land warms."
Dubrov and Vande Hai also left the capsule in a good mood and without any visible problems. Immediately after landing, the American astronaut was put on a baseball cap - from the bright Sun, from which his eyes were unaccustomed - and a protective respirator. Apparently, NASA is still operating a mask regime introduced in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The next manned space flight to the ISS is scheduled for early April. During it, a crew of four people under the command of American Michael Lopez-Alegria will go on the SpaceX Crew Dragon ship of Elon Musk. The flight will be performed under a contract with the private company Axiom Space.
Vasily Zaitsev
