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New ISS commander

ISS-63 crew long-term mission is coming to an end at the International Space Station. The Soyuz MS-16 crewed spacecraft crewmembers - Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin, Ivan Vagner and NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy are preparing to return to Earth in accordance with the flight plan. Last night the crew changeover took place onboard the ISS.

The crew changeover process at the station is a formal ceremony of signing documents by two commanders: astronaut Christopher Cassidy, who has acted as the head of the station since April, and cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov: they signed the corresponding transfer of authority act. At the same time, the number of the expedition changes - in this case, from 63 to 64. According to the old tradition, the end of the ceremony is accompanied by striking the ship's bell.

Currently, Anatoly Ivanishin, Ivan Vagner and Christopher Cassidy are preparing for the upcoming landing. In the descent module of the Soyuz MS-16 crewed spacecraft, the crew will bring returnable equipment and cases with expedition scientific experiments results.

Tonight, the Soyuz MS-16 crewmembers will say goodbye to their colleagues, enter the spacecraft, close the transfer hatches and prepare for undocking. According to preliminary information from TsNIIMash Mission Control Center (part of the Roscosmos), closing the hatches between the Soyuz MS-16 and Poisk Mini-Research Module of the Russian Segment of the ISS is scheduled for October 21, 2020 at 20:10 UTC, undocking is expected at 23:32 UTC. The descent module is expected to land on October 22 at 02:54 UTC 147 km southeast of the city of Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

All operations will be broadcast live in the ‘Online Broadcast’ section of Roscosmos website.