Space Station Trio Return to Earth

After a journey spanning almost 79 million miles, the crew of the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft have safely returned to Earth after completing their 186 day-long mission to the International Space Station.

Soyuz commander and veteran cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko alongside crew mates Tim Peake and Tim Kopra landed their vehicle in the remote steppe of Kazakhstan at 9:15 a.m. UTC -  just three hours after leaving their home for the past six months.

Malenchenko, Kopra and Peake shortly before closing the hatches
between their Soyuz and the International Space Station.
 credit: Roscosmos

The trio bid farewell to their Expedition 47 crew mates early this morning before hatches between the station and the Soyuz were closed. This was followed at 6:52 a.m. by the undocking of the spacecraft from the station's Rassvet module - marking the official beginning of Expedition 48.

Since their arrival to station the crew have conducted hundreds of scientific experiments across a wide range of scientific fields including physics, Earth observation and human physiology experiments. The crew also saw off One Year Crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko back in March.

Having landed under cloudy conditions amid high winds, the crew were extracted one by one from the vehicle by Russian search and recovery forces at the landing site and flown to the remote town of Karaganda a short time later for a welcoming ceremony.

Malenchenko will board a Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center plane for a flight back to Star City to be reunited with his family, while Peake will return to the European Astronaut Center in Cologne and Kopra will return to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

This morning's landing concludes the fifth long duration space flight, and the fourth aboard the International Space Station for Malenchenko, who has now logged a total of 828 days in space. European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake - the first British astronaut to visit the space station Peake logs 186 days in space while and NASA astronaut Kopra now has a total of 244 days of spaceflight across two missions.

In the meantime, station commander Jeff Williams along with Russian flight engineers Alexei Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka will remain aboard the station until September. Before his departure this morning, Expedition 47 commander Kopra handed over the reigns of the International Space Station to Williams in the traditional Change of Command ceremony in which he paid tribute to the space station programme;

Peake, Malenchenko and Kopra shortly after landing in the remote
steppe of Kazakhstan after 186 days aboard the ISS.
credit: NASA

"We've been so privileged to work here on board with a huge variety of science experiments that we know are going to be a stepping stone for human exploration.. together we've demonstrated that we have a world-class orbiting laboratory."

They will occupy the complex for the next three weeks before being joined in July by the crew of the Soyuz MS-01 comprising of Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The trio are set to launch aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 6th.

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From the Halls of West Point to the International Space Station

The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York is well known for producing some of the most highly skilled military graduates in the world. However, it is also renowned for its spacefaring alumni which includes NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, who today launched aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six month long mission to the International Space Station.

Kopra graduated from West Point in 1985
credit: NASA

Kopra blasted off at 11:03 pm. GMT(6:03 p.m. EST) in the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft from Pad 1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome- the same launch pad used by Yuri Gagarin when he became the first man in space in April 1961. 

He is joined by Soyuz commander and veteran Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko making his sixth flight into space and his fourth flight to the ISS, and rookie European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake of Great Britain- the first Brit to visit the station.

The trio are set to live and work aboard the station for the best part of six months as part of Expedition 46/47, with Kopra serving as commander of the station for Expedition 47.

No stranger to the space station, Kopra was selected by NASA in July 2000 and later served as a flight engineer aboard the orbiting laboratory as part of Expedition 20 in 2009. He launched with the STS-127 crew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour and returned to Earth with the STS-128 crew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. 

Before joining the space agency he received his commission as a second lieutenant from the United States Military Academy in May 1985 and was designated as an Army aviator in August 1986. 

I recently asked Tim how he felt his training at the USMA helped him in his career as an astronaut,.

"West Point is a very challenging environment for young people..
I think the thing you learn that's most valuable from that experience is about getting your job done.. being disciplined and the fact that it's a team effort.."

"The common expression at West Point is "co-operate and graduate" and I think that's stuck with me."

USMA logo
credit: Army Times

Kopra finished by noting how important perseverance is in graduating from the military academy- "You have to stick with it in order to make it through."

Tim is part of a privileged group of West Point graduates to have flown in space. Notable others include Ed White, Buzz Aldrin and Al Worden, as well as former space station commanders Doug Wheelock and Jeffrey Williams(Williams will in fact fly aboard the ISS with Kopra as part of Expedition 47/48).

Kopra, Malenchenko and Peake are scheduled to return to Earth on June 5 2016.

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