ISS crew members land safely in Kazakhstan after six-month space mission

2011-11-23 05:21:24 GMT+7 (ICT)

HOUSTON (BNO NEWS) -- Three International Space Station (ISS) crew members from Japan, Russia and the United States landed safely on Earth on Tuesday after a nearly six-month mission in space, officials said.

Expedition 29 Commander Mike Fossum of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Flight Engineers Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Sergei Volkov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (FSA) landed their Soyuz spacecraft in frigid conditions on the central steppe in Kazakhstan at 8.26 a.m. local time.

The trio had arrived to the ISS on June 9, spending a total of 167 days in space and 165 days aboard the complex. Volkov, a two-time station crew member, has now accumulated a total of 366 days in space. During their months in space, NASA and its international partners celebrated the 11th anniversary of continuous residence and work aboard the station.

"I am very proud that astronaut Furukawa splendidly accomplished his mission at the ISS by performing various space experiments and operating the ISS systems," said JAXA President Keiji Tachikawa. "I believe he has exploited his specialist knowledge as a medical doctor and shown full commitment to take on the harsh training."

Fossum handed over command to NASA's Dan Burbank, who leads Expedition 30, before leaving the ISS. Burbank and Flight Engineers Anatoly Ivanishin and Anton Shkaplerov of Russia will continue research and maintenance aboard the station.

On December 21, the remaining Expedition 30 crew members, NASA astronaut Don Pettit, European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers and cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and dock with the station two days later.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-11-23

<deleted>?! Oh, yeah, that's right. Since the US didn't bother planning for what comes after the 30+ year shuttle fleet (the blame includes politicians of all parties), our astronauts now have to bounce off the earth like Yuri Gagarin ~50 years ago. Bouncing off the ground in Central Asia or gliding to a landing off the coast of Florida. This is progress? Sigh.

<deleted>?! Oh, yeah, that's right. Since the US didn't bother planning for what comes after the 30+ year shuttle fleet (the blame includes politicians of all parties), our astronauts now have to bounce off the earth like Yuri Gagarin ~50 years ago. Bouncing off the ground in Central Asia or gliding to a landing off the coast of Florida. This is progress? Sigh.

Yeah less drones & more space

At least we can learn from one

And the other keeps us safe enough to benefit from what we learn.

And the other keeps us safe enough to benefit from what we learn.

Creating enemies where there once was none...

I feel safer already

I do not need the CIA to keep me safe. Quite the opposite...

Edited November 23, 201114 yr by flying