LIVE: Soyuz TMA-16 set for landing – ISS status reviewed for STS-133
18 Mar 2010, 08:51 UTC
Expedition 22 commander Jeff Williams and Russian flight engineer Maxim Suraev are expected to land in the steppes of Kazakhstan at around 11:23 GMT on Thursday, following the undocking of their Soyuz TMA-16 from the International Space Station (ISS). Meanwhile, ISS managers have reviewed the status of the orbital outpost, including a major debate on STS-133’s addition to the Station.
Soyuz TMA-18 Return:
The Soyuz Vehicle consists of three modules: the Orbital Module, the Descent Module (DM), and the Instrumentation/Propulsion Module (IPM). All three modules nominally separate simultaneously, shortly after the deorbit burn is completed – at around 140 km altitude.
The two ‘off nominal’ re-entries in 2007 and 2008 were the cause of separation failures on the modules, thus initiating the ballistic return for their three person crews.
However, no issues have been suffered with the vehicle since an investigation found that the most likely cause of the previous failures related to an open the latch located at ‘Plane I’ interface.
“This was a failure of the 8 X 55 explosive bolt, caused by combined long-term exposure, under space flight conditions, to electrical discharges resulting from the difference in potential between the station hull and the surrounding plasma, which ...
