Russia safely sends home Space Station 17 crew

William Atkins
Friday, 24 October 2008 19:53

Science - Space

The Russians have pinpointed the problem to an explosive bolt that failed to explode (to separate two modules of the vehicle) due to electromagnetic interference.

Volkov and Kononeko had earlier performed a spacewalk to remove the defective bolt.

The returning Expedition 17 crew left the International Space Station in good hands.

The crew now onboard the Space Station is Expedition 18 commander and U.S. astronaut E. Michael Fincke, Expedition 18 and U.S. astronaut Greg Chamitoff, and Expedition 18 flight engineer and Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov.

Space.com provides additional information on the landing at “Space Tourist, Station Cosmonauts Land Safely.”

The NASA article announcing the safe return of the crew is "Expedition 17 crew returns from International Space Station."

A YouTube video of the launch of Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft is found at "Soyuz Rocket Launches Space Station Expedition 17 Crew."