After completing a 241-day mission in orbit, NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev are preparing to return to Earth. The trio is scheduled to depart the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on Sunday, July 26.
The spacecraft is set to undock from the station's Rassvet module at 3:03 a.m. EDT. Following a parachute-assisted descent, the crew is expected to land on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the city of Dzhezkazgan, at 6:25 a.m. EDT. By the conclusion of their mission, the crew will have traveled over 102 million miles across 3,856 orbits.
The mission represents the first spaceflight for both Williams and Mikaev, while serving as the second for Kud-Sverchkov. Prior to departure, a change of command ceremony will take place on Saturday, July 25, during which Kud-Sverchkov will hand over leadership of the orbital laboratory to NASA astronaut Jessica Meir. Expedition 75 will officially commence once the Soyuz MS-28 undocks.
Following their arrival in Kazakhstan, the crew will be transported by helicopter to Karaganda. From there, Williams will travel to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, while Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev will return to their training facility in Star City, Russia. NASA plans to provide live coverage of the departure and landing procedures throughout the weekend.
Source: NASA
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