Flight Engineer Joe Acaba writes about saying goodbye to crewmates Don, Andre and Oleg in his latest blog entry. http://go.nasa.gov/LVBKa1

Friends, Old and New

It is hard to believe how quickly the time has gone by. My lack of blogging is directly proportional to how busy things have been. As I write this, I am one of the three people on the ISS and the only American. It is pretty cool. The other three members of Expedition 31 went home last Sunday morning with an undocking around 4 am. It was sad to see them go. Anytime you experience a unique situation with someone, a certain bond is forged. It was the same with the friends I made as a Peace Corps Volunteer or crew members on my Space Shuttle flight (STS-119). I am sure you have friends like that. I will forever be grateful to Don, Andre and Oleg for the way we were received when we arrived, their sharing of experience, and for just being good friends. We had a great time working together. I wish them all the best as they get accustomed to life back on Earth. I know they were all anxious to get back to their families. There is a lot that needs to happen as you prepare to go home. The Soyuz is a small vehicle which would seem to make packing for return simple. However, with its small size comes the challenge of prioritizing items for return and making them all fit. Then crew members need to clean up their home for the past 6 months and consolidate all of the gear (both regular and electronic) they have been using. Don said his goal while cleaning up was that nobody would ever know he was here. Sorry Don, the impact you had on this Laboratory will never be forgotten. Somewhere in between all the work, you need to spend that quality time looking out the window and just enjoy the moment. No one knows if or when they might return to this unique Outpost. The 4 am undocking meant a sleep shift for the entire crew. It made for a long day for everyone. The departing crew still had another 4 hours until landing and then they start the long ride back to Houston. It is hard to imagine that within approximately 24 hours after undocking from the Space Station, one can be back at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Gennady, Sergey, and I worked until approximately 9 am and then tried to get some rest. We shifted back and were on a normal work cycle starting Tuesday morning.

I have heard many astronauts tell me that some of their favorite time on orbit was when there was a reduced crew size. It is an interesting situation. With only 3 people, we have more responsibilities. I can no longer ask Don or Andre where I might find a certain tool or what is the best way to access a certain piece of equipment. You hope you have learned what you need to get the job done. The great thing is that we have the Mission Control Centers guiding and helping us. Again, the importance of the team concept. However, there is something peaceful about waking up in the morning to a darkened Space Station and floating out of your crew quarters. At the end of a work day, you can spend time looking at Earth and getting lost in your thoughts. Or you can crank up the tunes and get in a great workout with Earth in the background and not have to worry about disturbing anybody. It is a great time for self reflection. I think I know what they meant about this time. I will enjoy these days because as busy as we have been up to now, things are going to get exciting soon. In the last half of my mission we will have of course the arrival of our new crew mates (we anxiously await the arrival of Suni, Aki, and Yuri on July 17). With a new crew come new enthusiasm, expertise, and many good memories, an undocking and re-docking then final undocking of a Progress vehicle, the arrival of HTV3, the arrival of another Progress, a Russian Spacewalk, and an American Spacewalk. I can�t wait.