Expedition 27 Crew Returns Home

After spending 157 days aboard the International Space Station, Dmitry Kondratyev, NASA Flight Engineer Cady Coleman and European Space Agency Flight Engineer Paolo Nespoli undocked from the station’s Rassvet module May 23, 2011, at 5:35 p.m. EDT. The crew landed safely at 10:27 p.m. EDT southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.

Russian cosmonaut Kondratyev, the Soyuz commander, was at the controls of the spacecraft. He backed the Soyuz TMA-20 away from the station and halted it about 600 feet away. From there, Nespoli took still photographs and video of the complex with space shuttle Endeavour attached. The station slowly rotated 130 degrees to provide Nespoli with the best lighting and views during his photo opportunity.

Once Nespoli completed taking pictures, the Soyuz performed a separation burn at 6:15 p.m. to increase the distance from the station before executing a deorbit burn at 9:36 p.m.

The departure of Kondratyev, Coleman and Nespoli marked the end of Expedition 27. Remaining aboard the station are Expedition 28 Russian Cosmonaut and Commander Andrey Borisenko, NASA Flight Engineer Ron Garan and Cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev. Three new crew members, Soyuz Commander Sergei Volkov, NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fossum and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on June 7. They will dock with the station and join its crew on June 9.