ISS: Change of Command Expeditions 46/47

Ceremony Complete: Expedition 47 in green, 46 in black t-shirts. NASA-TV.

 

It's that time again, when crew rotations take place on board Earth's outpost in orbit. On the International Space Station, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly gave a short speech thanking all the team members (both on ground and in space) who have helped make a fantastic year for him and for Mikhail Kornienko. He then pronounced the command turn over to Tim Kopra of NASA, who will be the commander of Expedition 47. The actual expedition changeover occurs when the Exp. 46 Soyuz undocks from the station.

Expedition 46 prepares to board the Soyuz TMA-18M. In light and dark blue shirts, from L-R: Kornienko, Sergey Volkov, and Scott Kelly. In green shirts are (L-R): Yuri Malenchenko, Tim Kopra, and Tim Peake (from UK). The Russian module is much more crowded than the one where the change of command ceremony took place.

 

At the far end of the module, you can see the Expedition 46 members in the Soyuz capsule science section.

 

Closing the hatches.