NASA ISS Expedition 30 crew Departure: Hatches close on Soyuz TMA-22

The Expedition Crew 30 and 31 prior to departure.

Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko (left) and Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank prepare to close the hatches between the International Space Station and the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft. Credit: NASA

Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank and Flight Engineers Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin have said their farewells, entered the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft and closed the hatches at 1:12 a.m. EDT.

They will undock from the International Space Station at 4:18 a.m. ending Expedition 30 and landing in Kazakhstan three and a half hours later.

The Soyuz will perform a deorbit burn before the descent module separates from the rest of the Russian spacecraft and enters the Earth’s atmosphere.

Afterwards, the Soyuz will deploy several parachutes slowing its descent and then fire three small engines to soften its landing in the steppe of Kazakhstan.