Belarusian cosmonaut Marina Vasilevskaya returning to Earth from ISS: hatch closing and undocking already over

There was no time to sleep at all tonight: the international crew is returning to Earth! Thousands of people are following the historic event, but Belarusians are especially excited: together with cosmonaut of the Roscosmos State Corporation Oleg Novitsky and participant of the 70th long-term expedition, NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, the first female cosmonaut from Belarus, participant of the space flight Marina Vasilevskaya, is on board.

Maybe that was the reason that, already in the first minutes of the broadcast of the hatch closing between the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft and the ISS, the number of viewers exceeded several hundred. Actually, it was not surprising: the stage of preparation for the undocking is a serious and complicated process. At exactly 03:45 Moscow time, the first stage in the work programme started: closing the transfer hatches between the spacecraft and the Rassvet mini-research module of the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

A communication session via microphones followed:

— Gas masks are on panel 206, air ducts are to be further removed.

— Well, confirm: the panel of devices and block two. Right?

— Yes!

— Everything is fine.

Three minutes later, commander Oleg Novitsky, spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya and flight engineer Loral O'Hara appeared on the screen – cheerful and smiling. They waved at the cameras and gathered closer to each other to be photographed.

Meanwhile, those watching the broadcast were extremely worried about the ‘space trip’ participants, wishing them a good landing in a chat section: ‘I wonder whether beautiful views will get on the camera today?’, Good morning and good luck to everyone!’, ‘A speedy return to Earth and a soft landing’.

By the way, preparations for today’s important event ended several days ago: cosmonauts carried out preventive maintenance of the mechanisms for sealing hatch covers between the spacecraft and the Rassvet module, recharged the satellite telephone terminal, took samples from the surfaces in the Zarya, Zvezda, Poisk, Rassvet and Nauka modules, as well as Soyuz MS-25, and packed the equipment into the spacecraft on the Russian segment of the ISS.

— We can start closing.

— Yes, we confirm, we are starting [hatch] closing and congratulate everyone on the completion of the 21st visiting expedition.

Later, Oleg Novitsky, Marina Vasilevskaya and Loral O'Hara checked the tightness of the transition hatches and put on spacesuits. At 05:00-05:30 Moscow time, the crew moved into the lander, closed the hatch to the habitable module and then, in the interval from 05:30 to 06:35, the cosmonauts checked the leak tightness of the hatch and their spacesuits.

The participants of the 21st visiting expedition also coped brilliantly with the following task: the undocking of the Soyuz MS-24 manned spacecraft and the International Space Station. At 06:45 Moscow time, the broadcast began, and everyone could watch the process. Hundreds of commentators even managed to call over the cities.

— When the objects actually diverge, check the absence of foreign objects on the joint surface.

— The docking station is clean, no foreign objects have been detected.

— Well, in 2.5 minutes, the equipment will be ready to process the first signal.

— Confirmed.

At 06:54 Moscow time, Soyuz MS-24 undocked with the Rassvet module, and the crew of the 71st long-term expedition — Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub and Alexander Grebenkin, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Tracy Dyson – will continue to work at the station.

The process of returning the crew home continues. At 09:24 Moscow time, the Soyuz MS-24 engine is expected to be switched on for deceleration from orbit, at 09:52 – there will be the separation into compartments, at 09:54 — the entry of the lander into the dense layers of the atmosphere, and at 10:03 – the deployment of the main parachute.