{"id":10611,"date":"2022-03-29T19:07:12","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T11:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-astronaut-two-cosmonauts-set-for-wednesday-return-to-earth\/"},"modified":"2022-03-29T19:07:12","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T11:07:12","slug":"nasa-astronaut-two-cosmonauts-set-for-wednesday-return-to-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-astronaut-two-cosmonauts-set-for-wednesday-return-to-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA astronaut, two cosmonauts set for Wednesday return to Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION<\/p>\n

\"\"
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei in his Russian Sokol launch and entry spacesuit. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, launched by Russia to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft last April, returns this week to a world torn by war in Ukraine and escalating superpower tension as he closes out a 355-day stay in orbit, the longest single flight by a U.S. astronaut.<\/p>\n

Despite Russia\u2019s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and a sharp break in East-West space relations \u2014 including threatening rhetoric and even a YouTube video, later said to be a \u201cjoke,\u201d suggesting Vande Hei could be left behind aboard the station \u2014 the NASA astronaut and two cosmonaut crewmates will return to Earth Wednesday exactly as planned.<\/p>\n

Outgoing Expedition 66 commander Anton Shkaplerov turned the lab over to NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn Tuesday in a traditional change-of-command ceremony marked by hugs and handshakes, with no hint of the discord threatening U.S.-Russian relations on Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very proud I was the commander of this excellent crew,\u201d Shkaplerov said before handing a symbolic \u201ckey to the space station\u201d over to Marshburn. \u201cPeople have problems on Earth, on orbit we are one crew. I think ISS is (a) symbol of the friendship and cooperation and (the) symbol of future of exploration of space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Marshburn: \u201cIt\u2019s an honor and a privilege to accept command of the International Space Station and continuing that international partnership and that legacy in spaceflight. Want to thank you, you\u2019ve been a wonderful commander, really can\u2019t thank you enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

After bidding their seven station crewmates farewell late Tuesday, Shkaplerov, Vande Hei and flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov plan to strap into their Soyuz MS-19\/65S ferry ship and undock from the Russian Rassvet module at 3:21 a.m. EDT Wednesday.<\/p>\n

After a pause to give Dubrov time to carry out a photo survey of the station\u2019s Russian modules, Soyuz commander Shkaplerov will monitor an automated de-orbit rocket firing and a fiery plunge back to Earth, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan near the town of Dzhezkazgan at 7:28 a.m. Wednesday (5:28 p.m. local time).<\/p>\n

Vande Hei and first-time flier Dubrov will have logged 355 days seven hours and 45 minutes off planet, covering 5,680 orbits spanning 150.1 million miles. Including an earlier space station stay in 2017-18, Vande Hei\u2019s total time in space across two missions will stand at 523 days, moving him up to third on the list of most-experienced U.S. astronauts behind Peggy Whitson and Jeff Williams.<\/p>\n

\"\"
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Russian commander Anton Shkaplerov, seen here, are scheduled to return to Earth on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft March 30. Russian cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov will return to Earth with them. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Asked how he kept a positive attitude during such a long flight away from friends and family, Vande Hei said he tried \u201cto pay attention to just the day that I\u2019m on and not think about how many days are left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019ve been very, very fortunate to have wonderful crewmates,\u201d he told CBS News in a recent space-to-ground interview. \u201cEverybody\u2019s just getting along fantastically, and it\u2019s been a pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also made a point of meditating for 20 minutes each day in the multi-window cupola compartment, taking in spectacular views of Earth amid a sea of stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery morning, before everybody else is awake, with all the lights off, I can sit and look for 20 minutes at the stars,\u201d he said. And I feel very, very fortunate to have those experiences. \u2026 I wish I could find a good way to describe it to people. It\u2019s awe inspiring every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA flight surgeons and support personnel flew to Kazakhstan aboard a NASA jet last Friday and will be on hand at the Soyuz landing site to welcome Vande Hei home and to carry out initial medical checks as he begins readjusting to gravity after nearly a full year in weightlessness.<\/p>\n

Vande Hei and his support crew will fly back to the Johnson Space Center in Houston shortly after landing while Shkaplerov and Dubrov board a Russian aircraft for a flight to the cosmonaut training center in Star City near Moscow.<\/p>\n

Facing months of physical rehabilitation to regain his \u201cland legs,\u201d Vande Hei told a NASA interviewer last week he was especially looking forward to \u201cmaking a cup of coffee for my wife and myself and then sitting in bed and talking to each other while we\u2019re either reading or catching up on the news.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust having relaxing Saturday mornings is a wonderful thing,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then after that, I\u2019d probably say guacamole and chips.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dubrov and Vande Hei were launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a different Soyuz on April 9, 2021, joining spacecraft commander Oleg Novitskiy. When they took off, Vande Hei and Dubrov did not know how long their stay in space might last because of uncertainty about the Russian launch sequence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know with certainty that the flight would be this long,\u201d he told CBS News. \u201cBut I certainly knew that it was a possibility, and I made sure my family was aware of that. And they all agreed that I should still say yes. So no, I didn\u2019t have any second thoughts. I felt like it was an opportunity to fill a need that we had, and I was very happy to be able to fill it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last October, Russia launched a Soyuz carrying Shkaplerov, a Russian actress and her director to shoot scenes for a movie aboard the space station. The actress and director took the seats that normally would have been available to carry Dubrov and Vande Hei back to Earth after a six-month stay in space.<\/p>\n

Novitskiy ferried both of them home last October, leaving Shkaplerov behind to bring Dubrov and Vande Hei back to Earth this week after nearly a full year in space. Mission duration for Shkaplerov will stand at 176 days and two hours.<\/p>\n

\"\"
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei inside the cupola at the International Space Station. The Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft, his ride back to Earth, is seen in the background. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Several Russian cosmonauts have logged flights lasting more than a year \u2014 the world record is 437 days 17 hours \u2014 but Vande Hei\u2019s 355-day mark sets a new single-flight record for U.S. astronauts, eclipsing Scott Kelly\u2019s 340-day mark and Christina Koch\u2019s 328-day stay aboard the station, the world record for a female.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s great,\u201d Kelly said in a recent telephone interview with CBS News. \u201cWhat\u2019s the saying, records are made to be broken? And that means we\u2019re doing things better than we did it before. So yeah, congratulations to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for his perspective, Vande Hei said \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a record that I would even attribute to me, it\u2019s a record for our space program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a tremendous amount of respect for Scott and Christina, both,\u201d he said in a NASA interview. \u201cAnd I know they would both be extremely happy, as the explorers that they are, to see that we\u2019re furthering exploration, we\u2019re getting people into space for longer and longer periods of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect this record to be broken, and that will be a further success for our space program.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the record will not be broken by Vande Hei. He told his wife before launch the current mission would be his last.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be the end of a phase of my life,\u201d he said. \u201cI promised my wife I will not be flying to space again. So that will be bittersweet. I\u2019m very, very grateful to have had this amazing opportunity to come up to the space station, to be up here with such wonderful people who I will consider friends for the rest of my life, to serve my country and all of humanity.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo there\u2019ll be gratitude for that, enthusiasm for the future and a little bit of sadness, too, because I\u2019ll be shutting the door on that, I won\u2019t be able to come back. And this is a very, very special place.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei in his Russian Sokol launch and entry spacesuit. Credit: NASA NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, launched by Russia to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft last April, returns this week to a world torn by war in Ukraine and escalating superpower […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10611"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10611\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}