The Soyuz TMA-03M undocked from the International Space Station at 06:47 CEST (04:47 UT) this morning, starting the return journey to Earth for ESA astronaut André Kuipers, NASA's Don Pettit and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko. They are set to land in Kazakhstan at 10:14 CEST (08:14 UT).
Shortly after undocking from the ISS
Soyuz TMA-03M undocks from ISS
View of the ISS from Soyuz TMA-22 following undocking (credit: NASA TV)
The Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft has undocked from the International Space Station marking the end of Expedition 30 and the start of Expedition 31.
The Soyuz spacecraft separated from the ISS at 10:18 CEST this morning, on board are Dan Burbank, Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoli Ivanishin who have started their journey back to Earth. Oleg Kononenko is now officially commander of the ISS.
The Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft is scheduled to land in the Kazakh Steppe at 13:45 CEST (11:45 UT).
Watch the replay:
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ISS crewmembers Dan Burbank, Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoli Ivanishin are preparing to return to Earth. They entered their Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft earlier this morning. The hatches to the International Space Station were closed at 7:12 CEST and they will undock from the ISS at 10:18 CEST (08:18 UT), landing in the Kazakh Steppe some three and a half hours later.
The undocking of the Soyuz marks the official start of Expedition 31 for the crew remaining on the Station: Station Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Don Pettit and André Kuipers. In mid-May they will be joined by Flight Engineers Gennady Padalka, Joe Acaba and Sergei Revin who will launch and arrive in the Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft.
Follow the undocking live on NASA TV from 10:00 CEST (08:00 UT): http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
