TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2014
Despite strained relations over Russian actions in Ukraine, superpower cooperation in space continued unabated Monday with two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut departing the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz ferry craft and plunging to a landing on the snowy steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a 166-day mission.

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0406 GMT (12:06 a.m. EDT)
Kotov, Ryazanskiy and Hopkins have been extracted from the Soyuz spacecraft and appear in good spirits following 166 days in space.
0327 GMT (11:27 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
Recovery forces report landing occurred at 11:24 p.m. EDT (0324 GMT).
0327 GMT (11:27 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
The recovery team aboard a convoy of Russian helicopters is landing around the spacecraft to begin assisting the crew out of the capsule. The ground crew is smaller than usual due to inclement weather at the landing site, including fog and up to 6 inches of snow cover.
0325 GMT (11:25 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
TOUCHDOWN! The Soyuz TMA-10M capsule has landed in Kazakhstan, capping the 166-day voyage of Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov, Sergey Ryazanskiy and NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins to the International Space Station on Expeditions 37 and 38, a mission that traveled more than 70 million miles and 2,600 orbits of the planet.
0322 GMT (11:22 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
At an altitude of about 12 meters, cockpit displays will tell the cosmonauts to prepare for the soft landing engine firing. Just one meter above the surface, and just seconds before touchdown, the six solid propellant engines are fired in a final braking maneuver, enabling the Soyuz to land to complete its mission, settling down at a velocity of about 1.5 meters per second (3.35 mph).
0321 GMT (11:21 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
Recovery forces in Kazakhstan have made contact with the Soyuz crew, according to NASA. There appear to be no issues with the descent.

At an altitude of five kilometers, the module's heat shield is jettisoned. This is followed by the termination of the aerodynamic spin cycle and the dumping of any residual propellant from the Soyuz. Computers also will arm the module's seat shock absorbers in preparation for landing.

With the jettisoning of the capsule's heat shield, the Soyuz altimeter is exposed to the surface of the Earth. Using a reflector system, signals are bounced to the ground from the Soyuz and reflected back, providing the capsule's computers updated information on altitude and rate of descent.

0316 GMT (11:16 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
Landing is scheduled about eight minutes from now. NASA reports no problems so far in the re-entry, but Mission Control has not confirmed parachute deployment yet.
0310 GMT (11:10 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
Once the drogue chute is jettisoned, the main parachute is deployed. It is connected to the Descent Module by two harnesses, covers an area of about 1,000 square meters and slows descent to 7.2 meters/second.

Initially, the Descent Module will hang underneath the main parachute at a 30-degree angle with respect to the horizon for aerodynamic stability, but the bottommost harness will be severed a few minutes before landing, allowing the Descent Module to hang vertically through touchdown.

0309 GMT (11:09 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
Onboard computers should be starting a commanded sequence for deployment of the capsule's parachutes at an altitude of about 10 kilometers. Two "pilot" parachutes are unfurled first, extracting a 24-square-meter drogue parachute. Within 16 seconds, the craft's fall will slow from 230 meters per second to about 80 m/s.

The parachute deployment creates a gentle spin for the Soyuz as it dangles underneath the drogue chute, assisting in the capsule's stability in the final minutes before touchdown.

The crew reports a normal descent thus far.

0308 GMT (11:08 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
The crew experiences the period of maximum g-forces at this point during entry.
0304 GMT (11:04 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
Twenty minutes to landing. The Soyuz is making its fiery plunge into the atmosphere after 166 days in orbit.
0301 GMT (11:01 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
Entry Interface. The Soyuz is now hitting the upper fringes of the atmosphere at an altitude of 400,000 feet. The Expedition 37 crew will soon begin to feel the first tugs of Earth's gravity after five months in space.

The entry guidance by the spacecraft's onboard software package is scheduled to start in a few minutes.

0259 GMT (10:59 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
Module separation has occurred, Mission Control reports.

The three segments of the Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft have jettisoned apart, allowing the crew-carrying Descent Module to safely ferry the three crew members back to Earth. The no-longer-needed Orbital Module and Instrumentation/Propulsion Module are designed to burn up in the atmosphere.

0256 GMT (10:56 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
The Soyuz computers have been loaded with and enabled the commands to perform the pyrotechnic separation of the modules.
0254 GMT (10:54 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
Time to touchdown is now 30 minutes.

In about three minutes at an altitude of 87 miles, just above the first traces of the Earth's atmosphere, computers will command the separation of the three modules that comprise the Soyuz vehicle. With the crew strapped in to the Descent Module, the forward Orbital Module containing the docking mechanism and rendezvous antennas and the rear Instrumentation/Propulsion Module, which houses the engines and avionics, will pyrotechnically separate and burn up in the atmosphere.

The Descent Module's computers will orient the capsule with its ablative heat shield pointing forward to repel the buildup of heat as it plunges into the atmosphere. Entry interface at the upper fringes of the atmosphere, when the capsule is about 400,000 feet above the Earth, happens about three minutes after module separation.

0249 GMT (10:49 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
The Soyuz flight path is crossing Africa now as the spacecraft falls back toward the atmosphere. The crew members are expected to close their helmets at this time.
0245 GMT (10:45 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
The Soyuz is aiming for a landing site at 47.3 degrees north latitude and 69.57 east longitude.

The forecast at the landing site calls for a few clouds at 800 feet, broken clouds at 1,500 feet and broken clouds at 25,000 feet, with a temperature of 10 degrees Fahrenheit and light and variable winds. Landing will occur about an hour and 40 minutes after sunrise in Kazakhstan.

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0235 GMT (10:35 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
DEORBIT BURN COMPLETE! The Soyuz has performed its braking maneuver, committing the craft for entry into the atmosphere. Touchdown is about 49 minutes away.
0230 GMT (10:30 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
DEORBIT BURN IGNITION! Thrusters on the Russian Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft are firing to brake from orbit. This deorbit burn is expected to last four minutes and 50 seconds to put the capsule on a course for the trip back to Earth, slowing the vehicle by about 286 mph.
0224 GMT (10:24 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
Now one hour to touchdown.
0215 GMT (10:15 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
Everything is on track for the landing of the Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft at 11:24 p.m. EDT (0324 GMT), with the start of the capsule's deorbit burn expected at 10:30 p.m. EDT (0230 GMT).

The deorbit burn is programmed to last four minute and 50 seconds to slow the spacecraft's velocity by 286 mph, enough for the Soyuz to drop in altitude to be captured by Earth's atmosphere for re-entry.

Just before it falls into the atmosphere, the Soyuz spacecraft's three modules will separate at 10:58 p.m. EDT (0258 GMT). The orbital habitation and service modules will burn up during re-entry, while the landing section containing Oleg Kotov, Sergey Ryazanskiy and Mike Hopkins is protected by a heat shield.

Altitude of the Soyuz spacecraft at module separation will be about 86 miles, or just shy of 140 kilometers.

The Soyuz spacecraft will reach the top of the discernable atmosphere at 11:01 p.m. EDT (0301 GMT). The crew members will experience maximum g-forces at 11:08 p.m. EDT (0308 GMT).

The Soyuz will issue the command to open parachutes at 11:09 p.m. EDT (0309 GMT), beginning a 15-minute descent to the steppes of Kazakhstan.

A set of so-called "soft landing rockets" will fire just above the ground to further cushion the impact of landing.

0006 GMT (8:06 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
The 15-second separation firing by the Soyuz's thrusters has been completed to accelerate the spacecraft's departure from the International Space Station. The capsule will be nearly 8 miles away when it performs the deorbit burn today at 10:30 p.m. EDT (0230 GMT). Touchdown is scheduled for 11:24 p.m. EDT (0324 GMT).
0002 GMT (8:02 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
UNDOCKING. The Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft has separated from the space station after 166 days there, setting the stage for today's return to Earth with Soyuz commander Oleg Kotov, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy and NASA flight engineer Mike Hopkins.
0001 GMT (8:01 p.m. EDT on Mon.)
The undocking command has been issued. Hooks and latches holding the Soyuz and the station's Poisk module tightly together are being opened now.
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014
2345 GMT (7:45 p.m. EDT)
The homeward-bound crew has worked together for the past couple of hours to power up the Soyuz, active the craft's systems, remove docking clamps, depressurize the vestibule between the capsule and station, and don their Sokol spacesuits. Undocking is set for 8:02 p.m. EDT (0002 GMT).
2120 GMT (5:20 p.m. EDT)
The crew has boarded the Soyuz spacecraft for this evening's journey from the International Space Station to the landing site in Kazakhstan. The crew closed the hatchway between the station and capsule at 4:58 p.m. EDT.

Oleg Kotov, Sergey Ryazanskiy and Mike Hopkins will put on their Sokol launch and entry spacesuits over the next few hours before undocking of the Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft at 8:02 p.m. EDT (0002 GMT Tuesday). Landing is scheduled for 11:24 p.m. EDT (0324 GMT Tuesday).

2040 GMT (4:40 p.m. EDT)
Despite strained relations over Russian actions in Ukraine, superpower cooperation in space continues unabated with two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut set for a fiery plunge back to Earth late Monday aboard a Russian Soyuz ferry craft to close out a 166-day stay in space.

Read our full story.

FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2014
As diplomatic tensions flare over Russia's armed incursion into Ukraine, preparations for Monday's landing of two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut continue unabated as recovery crews converge on the Kazakhstan touchdown zone.

Read our full story.