Soyuz spacecraft returns astronauts to Earth (+video)

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An American, a Russian and a German returned from the International Space Station late Sunday night (Nov. 9), landing in Kazakhstan after spending 165 days in orbit.

"What a ride it has been," NASA astronaut Reid Weisman wrote on Twitter just before he, Roscosmos cosmonaut Maxim Suraev and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst closed the hatch separating theirRussian Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraftfrom their home of 5 1/2 months, the space station, at 4:27 p.m. EST (2127 GMT) Sunday.

Three hours later, at 7:31 p.m. EST (0031 GMT), the three Expedition 40/41 crewmates undocked the Soyuz from the orbiting laboratory's Rassvet mini-research module, setting off on their return to Earth. Monitoring their departure from onboard the station were Expedition 42 commander Butch Wilmore and cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyayev and Elena Serova, whoarrived at the outpost in September. [Space Station Photos: Expedition 40/41 in Pictures]

The Soyuz crew performed a 4-minute, 41-second engine burn at 10:05 p.m. EST (0305 GMT on Nov. 10), slowing the craft and causing it to fall out of orbit.

After re-entering the atmosphere and descending under a parachute, Wiseman, Suraev and Gerst touched down on the frigid steppe of Kazakhstan at 10:58 p.m. EST (0358 GMT; 9:58 a.m. Kazakh local time on Nov. 10), northeast of the remote town of Arkalyk.

The capsule landed upright, but wind caught its parachute and pulled the spacecraft onto its side.

Poor weather conditions threatened to delay Russian search and recovery forces' arrival at the landing site, but the team's helicopters were able to touch down near the Soyuz and assist Wiseman, Suraev and Gerst with exiting the space capsule.

The three spaceflyers were provided brief medical checks before being flown to the Kazakh town of Kustanai for a traditional welcome ceremony. From there, Wiseman and Gerst were to be flown by a NASA jet to Scotland, where the two will part ways: Gerst will depart for the European Space Agency while Wiseman flies to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Suraev will be flown directly from Kustanai to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, located outside of Moscow.

The three launched together to the space stationonboard Soyuz TMA-13Mfrom the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on May 28. The flight marked both Wiseman's and Gerst's first time in space. Suraev previously lived aboard the station for 169 days during Expeditions 21 and 22 from September 2009 through March 2010.

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Soyuz spacecraft returns astronauts to Earth (+video)

Soyuz spacecraft returns astronauts to Earth

Posted on by

An American, a Russian and a German returned from the International Space Station late Sunday night (Nov. 9), landing in Kazakhstan after spending 165 days in orbit.

"What a ride it has been," NASA astronaut Reid Weisman wrote on Twitter just before he, Roscosmos cosmonaut Maxim Suraev and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst closed the hatch separating theirRussian Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraftfrom their home of 5 1/2 months, the space station, at 4:27 p.m. EST (2127 GMT) Sunday.

Three hours later, at 7:31 p.m. EST (0031 GMT), the three Expedition 40/41 crewmates undocked the Soyuz from the orbiting laboratory's Rassvet mini-research module, setting off on their return to Earth. Monitoring their departure from onboard the station were Expedition 42 commander Butch Wilmore and cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyayev and Elena Serova, whoarrived at the outpost in September. [Space Station Photos: Expedition 40/41 in Pictures]

The Soyuz crew performed a 4-minute, 41-second engine burn at 10:05 p.m. EST (0305 GMT on Nov. 10), slowing the craft and causing it to fall out of orbit.

After re-entering the atmosphere and descending under a parachute, Wiseman, Suraev and Gerst touched down on the frigid steppe of Kazakhstan at 10:58 p.m. EST (0358 GMT; 9:58 a.m. Kazakh local time on Nov. 10), northeast of the remote town of Arkalyk.

The capsule landed upright, but wind caught its parachute and pulled the spacecraft onto its side.

Poor weather conditions threatened to delay Russian search and recovery forces' arrival at the landing site, but the team's helicopters were able to touch down near the Soyuz and assist Wiseman, Suraev and Gerst with exiting the space capsule.

The three spaceflyers were provided brief medical checks before being flown to the Kazakh town of Kustanai for a traditional welcome ceremony. From there, Wiseman and Gerst were to be flown by a NASA jet to Scotland, where the two will part ways: Gerst will depart for the European Space Agency while Wiseman flies to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Suraev will be flown directly from Kustanai to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, located outside of Moscow.

The three launched together to the space stationonboard Soyuz TMA-13Mfrom the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on May 28. The flight marked both Wiseman's and Gerst's first time in space. Suraev previously lived aboard the station for 169 days during Expeditions 21 and 22 from September 2009 through March 2010.

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Soyuz spacecraft returns astronauts to Earth

Mars MAVEN Orbiter Demonstrates Its Relay Prowess

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November 11, 2014

Provided by Guy Webster/Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Nancy Neal Jones/Goddard Space Flight Center

The newest node in NASAs Mars telecommunications network a radio aboard the MAVEN orbiter custom-designed for data links with robots on the surface of Mars handled a copious 550 megabits during its first relay of real Mars data.

MAVENs Electra UHF radio received the transmission from NASAs Curiosity Mars rover on Nov. 6, using an adaptive data rate as the orbiter passed through the sky over the rover. The data that MAVEN relayed to NASAs Deep Space Network of large dish antennas on Earth included several images of terrain that Curiosity has been examining at the base of Mars Mount Sharp. The test also included relaying data to Curiosity from Earth via MAVEN.

MAVEN (for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) entered orbit around Mars on Sept. 21. The orbiter is finishing a commissioning phase including calibration of its science instruments and fine tuning of its orbit before its prime science phase starts. MAVEN will investigate the upper atmosphere of Mars to provide understanding about processes that led to the loss of much of the original Martian atmosphere.

Two older NASA orbiters, Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, currently provide data relay for NASAs two active Mars rovers while also continuing to study Mars. Using relay via orbiters, compared with the rovers capability to transmit directly to Earth, greatly increases science data return from the Martian surface.

MAVEN will be available during its prime science mission to provide relay services if issues arise with the other orbiters, and it may routinely provide relay support during an anticipated extended mission.

The Electra design is also on UHF radios aboard Curiosity and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It includes relay-enhancing features such as the ability to automatically adjust data rate to signal strength as the distance to the rover changes during the orbiters overflight. MAVENs orbit is more elongated than the orbits of either Mars Odyssey or Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. During the Nov. 6 test, MAVENs distance from Curiosity ranged from about 680 miles to 2,300 miles (1,110 to 3,700 kilometers), farther than is typical in communication sessions between the Curiosity rover and the other orbiters.

MAVENs principal investigator is based at the University of Colorados Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, and NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the MAVEN project. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, supplied and operates MAVENs Electra payload and provides Deep Space Network support for the mission.

For more information about the MAVEN mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/maven and http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/maven/. For more information about NASAs Mars Exploration Program, see: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov.

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Mars MAVEN Orbiter Demonstrates Its Relay Prowess

Jennifer Lawrence Sets the Red Carpet on Fire at the Mockingjay World Premiere

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Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, and Elizabeth Banks stunned on the red carpet at the world premiere of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 in London on Monday, and Jennifer later turned heads at the afterparty, too. The ladies were all smiles while posing for photos in their glamorous gowns; Julianne kept things sleek in a black long-sleeved number while Jennifer went for a white waterfall-hem Dior dress and Elizabeth turned it out in a truly incredible Elie Saab number. For the film's afterparty, Jennifer slipped into another white dress, this time with a plunging neckline, and Elizabeth changed into a strapless dress.

Josh Hutcherson also hit the red carpet with his costars despite battling a case of strep throat over the weekend both he and Jennifer came down with the bug, and Josh had to miss promo duties at a London photocall as well as an appearance on the German talk show Wetten, dass . . ? on Saturday. Also on hand for the big night were Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone, Natalie Dormer, Sam Claflin, and Lorde, who contributed three songs for the movie's soundtrack. Keep reading for photos from the world premiere of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, and be sure to check out the fiery final trailer for the movie before its Nov. 21 release.

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Jennifer Lawrence Sets the Red Carpet on Fire at the Mockingjay World Premiere

'The Blacklist' Season 2 Spoilers: Who Died In The Fall Finale? Episode 8 Recap

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Though The Blacklist was competing with Monday Night Football, after episode 8, The Decembrist, the NBC series will now be off until football is over. Nov. 10 was the fall finale of The Blacklist, which will return after the Super Bowl in February. However, there were some questions to answer first with Red (James Spader) revealing he had found Berlins (Peter Stormare) daughter in episode 7.

Episode 8 began by showing how Liz (Megan Boone) secretly saved Tom (Ryan Eggold) after he was shot in the Season 1 finale, and interrogated him for information about Berlin. The intense conversations lasted for weeks, bringing fans up to date with what we saw in the last episode.

Meanwhile, Berlin, realizing his daughter was alive, was confused about who had misinformed him. His daughter, Zoe (Scottie Thompson), on the other hand revealed that a man named the Decembrist had helped her flee to America to hide from her father (she was still not happy about things he had done in the past).

After Red told Liz that he was now working with Berlin, she was upset (to say the least), but he convinced her to help them find the Decembrist. Liz put the F.B.I. on the case and while they do not get permission to pursue the man (hes a high ranking Russian official), she passes the name on to Red who heads to Moscow with Berlin for some payback.

However, Liz has other things to worry about. A boating worker close to where she was keeping Tom stumbled upon her hideout and Liz was forced to take him prisoner. While deciding what to do, Tom kills the man trying to force her hand (believing she will not kill him) and get her to let him go.

In Moscow, Red and Berlin tracked down the Russian official they believed to be the Decembrist, but it turned out he was just a pawn. The Decembrist was actually Alan Fitch (Alan Alda). Red paid the NSA director a visit, angry that he had been lied to about Berlin. Red wanted to let Berlin take Fitch out, but he also knew he would be in danger without the protection he was under from their agreement. However, things got complicated when Berlin was able to kidnap Fitch.

Both frustrated, Red and Liz met where he she finally confessed to keeping Tom prisoner. Red was interested in Tom in order to find Berlin, who had gone underground after taking Fitch. Red needed to stop Berlin to keep himself safe.

Liz returned to the hideout to grill Tom, but he would only give her Berlin if she let him go. Liz finally agreed in exchange for the address Berlin was holding Fitch hostage. With the address, the F.B.I. barged in and found the missing NSA head, but he had a bomb attached to his neck.

While the F.B.I. worked to disassemble the bomb, Berlin got lunch with his daughter in an attempt to reconnect. However, Zoe was only leading Red to Berlin, who crashed the lunch (in a moment that almost made you feel bad for Berlin). Red demanded to know how to stop the bomb.

Back at the F.B.I. black site, Fitch asked to see Red. Red showed up with the bad news that there was no way to disarm the bomb. Fitch told Red that there would be a chain reaction from his death with people no longer afraid to come after Red anymore. He wanted assurance from Red that Red still had the fulcrum -- but what could the fulcrum be? He also gave Red the combination to a safe, but the bomb went off before he could give the exact location.

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'The Blacklist' Season 2 Spoilers: Who Died In The Fall Finale? Episode 8 Recap

NASA MA (Fall Finale) – 11/8/14 – Summit Point Main – TTD Session 1 – Video

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NASA MA (Fall Finale) - 11/8/14 - Summit Point Main - TTD Session 1
Car: Scion FR-S Mods: Essex AP Racing Sprint BBK Ohlins Road and Track Coilovers Hoosier R6 225/45R17 Delcious Stage 1 Pump Gas tune ACT Prolite Clutch/Flywheel Drive Shaft Shop CF Drive ...

By: Josh Adams

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NASA MA (Fall Finale) - 11/8/14 - Summit Point Main - TTD Session 1 - Video

NASA MA (Fall Finale) – 11/8/14 – Summit Point Main – HPDE4/TTD Session 1 – Video

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NASA MA (Fall Finale) - 11/8/14 - Summit Point Main - HPDE4/TTD Session 1
Car: Scion FR-S Mods: Essex AP Racing Sprint BBK Ohlins Road and Track Coilovers Dunlop ZII 235/40R17 Delcious Stage 1 Pump Gas tune ACT Prolite Clutch/Flywheel Drive Shaft Shop CF Drive ...

By: Josh Adams

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NASA MA (Fall Finale) - 11/8/14 - Summit Point Main - HPDE4/TTD Session 1 - Video

NASA MA (Fall Finale) – 11/8/14 – Summit Point Main – TTD Session 2 – Video

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NASA MA (Fall Finale) - 11/8/14 - Summit Point Main - TTD Session 2
Car: Scion FR-S Mods: Essex AP Racing Sprint BBK Ohlins Road and Track Coilovers Hoosier R6 225/45R17 Delcious Stage 1 Pump Gas tune ACT Prolite Clutch/Flywheel Drive Shaft Shop CF Drive ...

By: Josh Adams

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NASA MA (Fall Finale) - 11/8/14 - Summit Point Main - TTD Session 2 - Video