Thursday, March 17, 2011

Bumpy Ride Comes to an End

Wind drags Soyuz capsule after touchdown.

After a fiery reentry through Earth's atmosphere, the three space voyagers in the Soyuz Capsule touched down on Earth's snowy fields yesterday at 1:54 pm local time in Kazakhstan. Russian landings are a bit bumpy - they don't use water landings like the old Apollo missions. For security reasons, the old Soviets design their craft to return to the frozen steps of Eastern Russia (now Kazakhstan).

Evidently, it's not just space that's cold.

Just before the capsule hits the Earth, a final blast from thrusters slows the craft even more and then BUMP it hits the ground. Generally speaking, the voyagers remain in the capsule until the helicopters arrive with rescue personnel who assist them. Remember, these poor guys have been without gravity for many months and can use some help moving in the heavy Earth gravity.

The astronaut and cosmonauts arrived safely, and were soon flying back to Russian space center where they will be debriefed and then sent home to join their families.

No comments: