Moscow, April 17 / TASS /. The engines of the Russian Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft with cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, as well as the American astronaut Kathleen Rubins on board, were started to carry out a deorbiting burn, the Russian space corporation Roscosmos said on Saturday in a post on Twitter.
“At 07:01:30 Moscow time, a firefighting order was issued for the orbital burning. The burning lasted 4.5 minutes,” Roscosmos said.
The spacecraft disconnected from the International Space Station (ISS) at about 04:34 Moscow time.
Meanwhile, a search and rescue air force from Russia’s central military district has left for the alleged landing site of the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft in Kazakhstan, the district’s press service said on Saturday.
The landing is scheduled for Saturday at 07:56 Moscow time. Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, as well as American astronaut Kathleen Rubins, are aboard the spacecraft.
“To ensure the search and rescue effort during the landing <…> 12 Mi-8MTV5-1 helicopters of the Russian army aviation, two An-12 planes and an An-26 aircraft of the transport aviation of the central military district took off from the airfields in Zhezqazghan, Baikonur and Karaganda. The search and rescue area is centered 147 km southeast of Zhezqazghan, “the statement said.
On board the aircraft are equipment, rescuers and teams of doctors. The exact location of the landing site will be determined by the An-26 crew. In addition, ground rescue teams were deployed in the main and alternative landing areas.