Soyuz TMA-19M Prepares for Flight Back to Earth From ISS

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The transfer hatches between the Soyuz TMA-19M space capsule and the International Space Station (ISS) have been closed, Russian space agency Roscosmos reports. 

​"On June 18, 2016 at 05:36 [02:36 GMT] Moscow time the operation on the closure of transfer hatches between the transport manned spacecraft Soyuz TMA-19M and the International Space Station has been completed," Roscosmos said in a Saturday statement.

The Soyuz TMA-19M is expected to undock from the ISS at 08:52 Moscow time (05:52 GMT). The space capsule will bring Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, NASA (US National Aeronautics and Space Administration) astronaut Timothy Kopra and ESA’s (European Space Agency) Timothy Peake, who have been on board the ISS since March 1, back to Earth.

The crew is expected to land in Kazakhstan on Saturday at 12:14 Moscow time (09:14 GMT).

The launch of a new crew to the ISS has been postponed until July 7 for safety reasons, according to Roscosmos.