A little while ago, cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub and astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson returned to Earth on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft, which landed in Kazakhstan. Kononenko and Chub completed a one-year mission on the International Space Station while Caldwell-Dyson spent almost exactly 6 months on the Station.
During the time spent on the International Space Station with the final part of Expedition 71, the three crew members carried out various routine maintenance activities and many scientific experiments. On April 28, 2024, a Dragon cargo spacecraft departed the Station to return to Earth and complete its CRS-30 mission. On May 28, the Russian Progress MS-25 cargo spacecraft departed the Station to disintegrate in the Earth’s atmosphere. On June 1, the Progress MS-27 cargo spacecraft reached the Station. On June 6, Boeing’s Starliner Calypso spacecraft reached the Station on its CFT mission with two astronauts. On July 12, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft “S.S. Patricia “Patty” Hilliard Robertson” departed the Station to disintegrate in the Earth’s atmosphere. On August 6, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft “S.S. Francis R. “Dick” Scobee” reached the Station on its NG-21 mission. On August 13, the Russian Progress MS-26 cargo spacecraft departed the Station to disintegrate in the Earth’s atmosphere. On August 17, the Progress MS-28 cargo spacecraft reached the Station. On September 6, the Starliner Calypso spacecraft departed the Station with no astronauts on board. On September 11, the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft arrived at the Station with three new crew members.
Two spacewalks were performed during this period, although only one was completed. On April 25, 2024, cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub spent 4 hours and 36 minutes installing equipment on a radar system and an experiment to analyze corrosion levels on the surface of the Station. On June 24, astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson exited the Station with her colleague Mike Barratt of the Crew-8 mission, but a water leak in her spacesuit’s cooling system forced the two astronauts to cancel the operation.
On Sunday, September 22, Oleg Kononenko officially handed over command of the International Space Station to American astronaut Sunita Williams. The launch of the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft marked the start of Expedition 72.
This is a time of quick turnover in the International Space Station crew, as both American Crew Dragon and Russian Soyuz spacecraft are making their journeys within less than a month. Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub have completed a year-long mission, officially, to study the effects of that long stay on the crew of the space station Russia intends to build, but it remains to be seen if those plans can be carried out.
