Updated
Updated · NASA · Jul 23
Chris Williams Returns on Soyuz After 241-Day ISS Mission, Completing 3,856 Orbits
Updated
Updated · NASA · Jul 23

Chris Williams Returns on Soyuz After 241-Day ISS Mission, Completing 3,856 Orbits

3 articles · Updated · NASA · Jul 23

Summary

  • Soyuz MS-28 is set to undock from the ISS at 3:03 a.m. EDT Sunday and land in Kazakhstan at 6:25 a.m., bringing NASA astronaut Chris Williams and two Roscosmos crewmates home after 241 days.
  • The trio will finish 3,856 orbits and more than 102 million miles before touchdown southeast of Dzhezkazgan, with a deorbit burn scheduled for 5:31 a.m. EDT.
  • Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will hand ISS command to NASA astronaut Jessica Meir before departure, and Expedition 75 officially begins once Soyuz MS-28 leaves the station.
  • After landing, recovery teams will take the crew by helicopter to Karaganda; Williams then heads to NASA's Johnson Space Center, while Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev return to Star City in Russia.
  • The flight is the first space mission for Williams and Mikaev and the second for Kud-Sverchkov, extending the ISS's more than 25 years of continuous human occupation.

Insights

What did Chris Williams, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev accomplish in 241 days before their Soyuz landing in Kazakhstan?
After 102 million miles and 3,856 orbits, what happens to the ISS crew physically and operationally once they touch down?
Why does this Soyuz homecoming matter for future Moon and Mars missions as much as for the astronauts returning Sunday?