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Astronaut Jonny Kim and Two Cosmonauts Set for Parachute-Assisted Return From ISS

08:33 AM, 12/06/2025
Astronaut Jonny Kim and Two Cosmonauts Set for Parachute-Assisted Return From ISS

Astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky are scheduled to undock from the ISS Monday at 8:41 p.m. EST and make a parachute-assisted landing southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, the next morning. They will return in the Soyuz-27 spacecraft after a 245-day mission, during which they completed about 3,920 orbits and traveled nearly 104 million miles. Ryzhikov will hand over command of the station to NASA astronaut Mark Fincke in a ceremony streamed by NASA.

Three-Seat Soyuz Departure Scheduled From International Space Station

Astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky are scheduled to depart the International Space Station (ISS) Monday evening for a parachute-assisted landing in Kazakhstan the following morning, NASA announced.

The Soyuz-27 vehicle is expected to undock from the station's Prichal module at 8:41 p.m. EST Monday. The crew is planned to touch down southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 10:04 a.m. local time the next day.

Kim, Ryzhikov and Zubritsky arrived at the ISS in April aboard the same Soyuz-27 spacecraft and will return to Earth in that vehicle, descending roughly the 262-mile distance from the station to the planet's surface.

After touchdown, recovery helicopters will transport the three crew members to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where their respective recovery teams will meet them. A NASA aircraft will then fly Jonny Kim back to Houston, while Ryzhikov and Zubritsky will travel to Roscosmos's training center in Star City, Russia.

NASA plans to stream the undocking and landing live on NASA+, the NASA YouTube channel, Amazon Prime and across its social media platforms.

Change of Command: The departure marks the end of Sergey Ryzhikov's command of the ISS. He is scheduled to formally hand over command to NASA astronaut Mark Fincke during a ceremony at 10:30 a.m. EST Sunday; NASA will also stream the ceremony.

The three crewmembers are nearing the conclusion of a 245-day mission during which they orbited Earth approximately 3,920 times, traveling nearly 104 million miles. This mission is Ryzhikov's third flight to the ISS and the first station missions for Jonny Kim and Alexey Zubritsky.

For more than 25 years the ISS has hosted international crews conducting research that cannot be done on Earth. Recently the station reached a milestone when all eight of its docking ports were occupied simultaneously. In September the crew successfully docked Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL cargo craft after earlier thruster issues delayed its arrival; Cygnus delivered roughly 11,000 pounds of cargo and scientific equipment.

Watch Live: Check NASA+, the NASA YouTube channel, Amazon Prime, or NASA social channels for live coverage of the undocking, landing and the change-of-command ceremony.

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