Soyuz landing in Kazakhstan brings NASA astronaut and two cosmonauts home
Chris Williams, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev returned from the ISS after 241 days and 3,856 orbits, according to CBS News.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
3 min read
A Soyuz landing in Kazakhstan ended an eight-month International Space Station mission Sunday for NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev, CBS News reported.
The three crew members returned aboard the Soyuz MS-28/74S spacecraft, touching down near Dzhezkazgan at 6:27 a.m. EDT, or 3:27 p.m. local time, after a 241-day stay in orbit.
According to CBS News, the spacecraft undocked from the station’s Russian Rassvet module at 3:03 a.m. EDT with Kud-Sverchkov commanding the return, Mikaev serving as flight engineer and Williams riding home after his first trip to space.
Who came back on the Soyuz from the space station?
The returning crew was made up of Kud-Sverchkov, Mikaev and Williams. NASA and Roscosmos imagery showed the capsule on the Kazakh steppe after touchdown, with dust kicked up around the spacecraft by its landing system.
The mission covered 3,856 orbits and 102 million miles after launching Nov. 27, CBS News reported. Williams and Mikaev completed their first spaceflights, while Kud-Sverchkov finished his second mission after previously logging 185 days aboard the station in 2020 and 2021.
After leaving the station, the Soyuz moved away from the orbiting laboratory before firing its braking rockets for four minutes and 42 seconds, according to CBS News. The capsule then re-entered the atmosphere and descended under its main parachute before the final rocket-assisted landing.
Recovery crews reached the capsule quickly and helped the three fliers out as they began readjusting to gravity. As is customary after Soyuz returns, the crew members were placed in recliners for medical checks, fruit and calls to family and friends.
From his recliner, Kud-Sverchkov said, “I am feeling better and better with each moment,” according to CBS News. He thanked those involved in the landing and described it as smooth and excellent.
The crew also received personalized Russian matryoshka dolls after landing. CBS News reported that someone joked through a translator that there was vodka inside, prompting one of the crew members to quip that it was why he had flown to space.
What happens after a Soyuz landing?
After medical checks at the landing site, crews are typically moved from the remote steppe to a staging location for onward travel. CBS News reported that Williams, Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev were to fly by helicopter to Karaganda, about 285 miles away.
Williams was then expected to return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston aboard a NASA jet, while Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev were headed to Star City near Moscow, according to CBS News.
During the mission, Williams took part in two spacewalks, one involving replacement work on a joint in the station’s robotic arm and another to prepare for new roll-out solar blankets. Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev also carried out a maintenance spacewalk on the Russian side of the station.
Before launch, Williams praised his two Russian crewmates in a NASA interview, calling them “absolutely wonderful people” and saying they had shared many wide-ranging discussions.
The station remains staffed by NASA Crew 12 commander Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. CBS News reported that Meir took command from Kud-Sverchkov during a Saturday ceremony.
Also aboard are Soyuz MS-29/75S commander Pyotr Dubrov, cosmonaut Anna Kikina and NASA astronaut Anil Menon, who launched from Baikonur on July 14 to replace the returning trio. A new NASA-sponsored crew is scheduled to launch from Florida on Sept. 12 to replace the Crew 12 astronauts, according to CBS News.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.