March 18, 2010

John Yembrick Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 john yembrick-1@nasa gov

Kelly Humphries Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 kelly o humphries@nasa gov
RELEASE: 10-066

SOYUZ LANDING CAPS MILESTONE SPACE STATION MISSION

WASHINGTON -- Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Max Suraev landed their Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft on the steppes of Kazakhstan Thursday, wrapping up a five-and-a-half-month stay aboard the International Space Station

Suraev, the Soyuz commander, was at the controls of the spacecraft as it undocked at 4:03 a m EDT from the station's Poisk module The duo landed at 7:24 a m at a site northeast of the Kazakh town of Arkalyk

Working in frigid temperatures, Russian recovery teams were on hand at the landing site to help the crew exit the Soyuz vehicle and readjust to gravity The crew members will return to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, outside of Moscow

Williams and Suraev launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept 30, 2009 As members of the Expedition 21 and 22 crews, they spent 167 days on the station, presiding over the completion of the complex's U S segment

The astronauts supported two space shuttle flights and helped install the Tranquility module, the cupola viewing port and a second Russian docking module Scientific research aboard the station continued to ramp up with the increase in available crew time and laboratory facilities

Williams now has logged 362 total days in space, placing him fourth on the all-time U S list of long-duration space travelers Peggy Whitson, who has spent 377 days in space, tops that list

The station now is occupied by Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineers Soichi Noguchi and T J Creamer A new trio of Expedition 23 flight engineers -- Alexander Skvortsov, Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko -- will launch from the Baikonour Cosmodrome on April 2 and join the current station crew with a docking on April 4

For information about the space station, visit:

http://www nasa gov/station

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