YEKATERINBURG, September 27 Military pilots of the Ural Aviation Association will bring Orenburg watermelon, pickles and mushrooms to the landing site of the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, the press reports. — service of the Central Military District.
“The Ural military pilots will greet the commander of the crew of the annual expedition to the International Space Station, a native of Yekaterinburg, Sergei Prokopyev, with a watermelon. The commander of the aviation regiment, Colonel Konstantin Malyshev, will give the astronaut words of welcome from his fellow countrymen and military personnel who are currently performing combat missions in the special military operation zone. In addition, “, at the request of cosmonaut Dmitry Petelin, members of the search and evacuation groups will bring pickles and mushrooms to the landing site,” the message says.
According to the Central Military District, the most popular gift to crews arriving on Earth from military rescuers are apples, In addition, the astronauts were greeted with cherries, Orenburg melons, watermelons and wild wild rosemary.
About 200 military personnel, Mi-8 helicopters, An-12 and An-26 aircraft, as well as ground equipment, including PEM-1 and PEM- search and recovery vehicles, are involved in search and rescue support for the crew meeting for the annual expedition to the International Space Station. 2 «Blue Bird».
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio were delivered to the ISS by the Russian Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft. On September 21, 2022, it docked with the space station. On December 15, 2022, after a micrometeorite hit, according to official data, the Soyuz cooling system depressurized. Due to the risks, the crew was forced to stay on the ISS for another six months. Experts decided that returning astronauts on such a ship was dangerous. The Soyuz MS-23 was sent to replace the damaged ship.
The undocking of Soyuz MS-23 and the ISS is scheduled for Wednesday at 10.55 Moscow time. In a few hours, the ship will have to turn on the propulsion system for braking and begin deorbiting. After this, the Soyuz will be divided into sections, and a few minutes before landing, the main parachute will open over the descent module with the crew. Landing in the Kazakh steppe is expected at 14.17 Moscow time.
By the time of landing, the crew will have spent 371 days in space. This is the longest flight under the ISS program.