A Russian manned spacecraft is scheduled to land in Kazakhstan on Friday to bring three members of the International Space Station (ISS) crew back to Earth, the Russian Mission Control said.
Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin, and NASA astronaut Dan Burbank, were scheduled to return to Earth on board the Soyuz TMA-22 on March 16 but the delayed launch of the Soyuz-TMA-04M with the next ISS expedition affected the return plans as well.
The undocking of the Soyuz TMA-22 from the orbital station has been set for 12.18 p.m. Moscow time (08:18 GMT) while the landing is expected at 03.45 p.m. Moscow time (11:45 GMT) on Friday in a designated area some 85 kilometers (about 52 miles) north-east of the town of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan.
Several aircraft and helicopters, as well as six rescue vehicles will ensure a quick search and recovery of the returning crew from the landing capsule.
The next expedition to ISS will comprise Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin, and NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba. The expected launch date is May 15.
The new members of the ISS crew will join NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers, who arrived at the ISS in December to spend 147 days aboard the orbital station.
