NASA's Top Astronaut Lands Back on Earth with Two Cosmonauts

On the eve of his 70th birthday, Don Pettit, NASA's oldest active-duty astronaut, and two cosmonaut crewmates packed up for a fiery plunge back to Earth to close out a 220-day expedition to the International Space Station.

Pettit, Soyuz MS-26/72S commander Alexey Ovchinin and flight engineer Ivan Vagner planned to undock from the space station at 5:57 p.m. EDT Saturday, setting up a landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan near the town of Dzhezkazgan three-and-half hours later at 9:20 p.m. (6:20 a.m. Sunday — Pettit's birthday — local time).

Russian recovery teams along with NASA staff were stationed close by to assist the returning crew members during their exit from the Soyuz descent capsule. They conducted preliminary health assessments and helped them make satellite phone calls to loved ones as these astronauts start readjusting to Earth’s gravitational pull following seven months spent in zero gravity.

If the landing occurs as scheduled, the total mission time will amount to 220 days plus almost nine hours, encompassing approximately 3,520 orbits and covering a distance of about 93.3 million miles. Since its release on September 11th From the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Upon landing, Ovchinin will have accumulated 595 days in space across four missions, narrowly preceded by Pettit, who will have spent a total of 590 days in orbit over four separate trips. Vagner’s cumulative time in space for both of her stays aboard the space station will amount to 416 days.

The global record for the highest total time spent in space is held by cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko , having accumulated approximately 1,111 days in orbit across five missions. The American record for time spent in space belongs to astronaut Peggy Whitson, who logged 675 days over her four trips.

Regarding Pettit's age, John Glenn, who was the first American to orbit Earth, was 77 years old when he served as a NASA payload specialist on the space shuttle mission in 1988. This makes him the oldest individual to have orbited in space.

Ovchinin and Vagner from Kazakhstan will return to Star City close to Moscow, whereas Pettit will be transported to the Johnson Space Center in Houston where he will undergo comprehensive examinations and start his physical therapy.

The trio's return to Earth marked the final chapter in an extended crew rotation that began with departure of SpaceX Crew 10 Commander Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and cosmonaut KirillPeskov were scheduled for March 14.

The arrival of Crew 10 at the space station paved the way for Crew 9 Commander Nick Hague, cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, Starliner Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore, and pilot Sunita Williams. return to Earth four days later .

The Russians then launched replacements for Pettit's crew — Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritsky and NASA's Jonny Kim — on April 8, clearing the way for Ovchinin, Vagner and Pettit to return to Earth Saturday.

On Friday, during a short ceremony, Ovchinin handed over the command of the station to Onishi.

I'm deeply honored to take charge of the ISS," Onishi stated. "It feels particularly remarkable as I’m stepping into this role after our first encounter back in 2016 during Expedition 48. We were newcomers then, but now we find ourselves as seasoned veterans leading the International Space Station.

"Human spaceflight isn’t simple. It took relentless effort across generations to bring us to this point. Currently, we have four newcomers onboard. I am confident that someday they will return as leaders...this is how we’ll keep advancing human space exploration," Onishi stated.

Since October 31, 2000, the International Space Station (ISS) has had continuous occupancy through rotating crew members. The station, which is set for decommissioning in about five years, now faces numerous challenges including air leaks within the Russian section, unstable financing, scarcity of replacement components, and hold-ups with restocking missions.

"Spaceflight is difficult and very risky," Rich Williams, a member of the independent Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, told the group in a public meeting Thursday. "The ISS has entered the riskiest period of its existence."

"The ISS management, crew and support personnel always make spaceflight look easy. Spaceflight is anything but easy, and the increasing risks attending the ISS program are making it harder," Williams said.

Leaks in the Zvezda module’s rear docking section are believed to be due to metal fatigue and the ongoing stress from repetitive pressurization changes whenever visiting Soyuz spacecrafts and Progress supply vehicles arrive or depart.

Williams stated that the main strategies for reducing risks at present involve applying and updating patches on identified fissures and minimizing pressure cycles to lessen stress and wear. He mentioned that the ISS program is keeping a close watch on this issue, with the panel deeming it one of their top worries.

NASA has contracted SpaceX to develop a U.S. deorbit vehicle, known as the USDV, which will guide the one-million-pound space station back into Earth’s atmosphere in 2030. This maneuver aims to make sure that it disintegrates above the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, away from maritime routes and inhabited regions. The USDV is scheduled to reach the laboratory facility in 2029.

As per Williams, delivering and implementing this USDV feature is essential for guaranteeing that the risk of deorbit debris complies with the set governmental public safety criteria," he stated. "Should the International Space Station undergo deorbit prior to the arrival of USDV, the danger posed to the general populace by the debris generated would escalate dramatically.

He stated that NASA and Russian space authorities are collaborating to tackle the difficulties related to ensuring a secure deorbit capability, covering both end-of-mission scenarios and controlled deorbits for emergency situations.

The primary issue confronting the International Space Station (ISS), as Williams pointed out, is described as "a significant funding gap for the ISS." The financial plan for NASA’s fiscal year 2024 allocated almost $1 billion for operating and maintaining the space station along with an additional $1.6 billion designated specifically for astronaut transportation and supply missions.

Maintaining sufficient funding and resources until the vehicle has successfully re-entered is essential," Williams stated. "This ensures both the routine functioning in a hazardous setting and the orderly, secure de-orbit within parameters set for space debris, thereby safeguarding public welfare.

To sum up, he stated, “the committee acknowledges the remarkable operational performance of the ISS program; however, they continue to be significantly worried about the escalating and interconnected hazards associated with the program in the coming few years.”