MOSCOW, September 17 (Itar-Tass) — In three hours' time, the Russo-American ISS mission crew members are to set out on travel back to Earth aboard a Soyuz spaceship. Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin, and NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba have already transferred to the Soyuz TMA-04M and battered the hatches down, a controller at the Mission Control Center (MCC) outside Moscow has told Itar-Tass.
At 03:09, Moscow time, the spaceship is to undock from the ISS and begin to descens.
"The descent module of the spaceship with the ISS-31/32crew is to land in an area located approximately 86 km northwest of the Kazakhstani city of Arkalyk, at 06:51, Moscow time," the MCC controller specified.
The spaceship on the downward flight path will be piloted by experienced cosmonaut Padalka. Revin will be the second pilot sitting to the left of Padalka, and Acaba will occupy the right-hand seat. This will be already a fourth descent for the spaceship commander. His fellow crew members will experience landing aboard a Russian spaceship for the first time: This is the first space flight for Revin in his spacefaring career; Acaba traveled aboard a space shuttle to the ISS previously.