NASA Coverage of Earthbound Space Yearling Scott Kelly Begins Feb. 29

Summary: NASA TV's full coverage of earthbound space yearling Scott Kelly begins Monday, Feb. 29, at 3:10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

"Soyuz Sokol Spacesuit Check. The crew is ready to come home": Sergey Volkov via Instagram Feb. 24, 2016

NASA Television’s full coverage of Year in Space Mission completion by earthbound space yearling Scott Kelly begins Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, at 3:10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Scott Kelly shares space yearling status in the Year in Space Mission aboard the International Space Station with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail “Misha” Kornienko. Russian flight engineer Sergey Volkov joins the two space yearlings in their return to Earth Tuesday, March 1, via the sophisticated Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft. The Soyuz has occupied a berth at the Poisk mini-research module, part of the International Space Station’s Russian segment, since docking at 3:42 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (10:42 a.m. Moscow Time) Friday, Sept. 4, 2015.

The Year in Space Mission actually spans 340 days. Kelly and Kornienko have lived on the International Space Station since their arrival Friday, March 27, 2015, via the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft.

The March 1 homecoming marks a stay of 182 days in space for Kelly’s and Kornienko’s commander in the Soyuz, Sergey Volkov. Pilot Volkov is the first second-generation Russian cosmonaut and space walker. Sergey’s father, Aleksander, participated in space missions aboard two of the International Space Station’s predecessors, Salyut 7 and Mir.

NASA Television coverage of the historic mission begins Monday with a change-of-command ceremony. Space yearling Scott Kelly hands over command of the International Space Station to NASA astronaut Timothy “Tim” Kopra.

The departures of Kelly, Kornienko and Volkov conclude the International Space Station’s Expedition 46. Expedition 47 commences with current crew members Tim Kopra, first British astronaut Timothy Peake and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko. The trio have been settling into sky-high life, at an average altitude of 250 miles (400 kilometers), since their arrival Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, via Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft.

NASA TV coverage resumes Tuesday with farewells to International Space Station crew members at 4:15 p.m. The station’s hatch closure procedure, closing the hatch between the International Space Station and the Soyuz spacecraft, is scheduled to take place at 4:40 p.m.

Coverage of undocking of the Soyuz spacecraft begins at 7:45 p.m. The undocking process is scheduled to begin at 8:05 p.m.

At 10:15 p.m., NASA TV begins coverage of the Soyuz spacecraft’s complete departure from the International Space Station. Deorbit burn is scheduled for 10:34 p.m.

Coverage follows through to same-day landing, slated to occur at 11:27 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Local Kazakhstan time places the landing at 10:27 a.m. the next day, Wednesday, March 2.

Coverage of the activities of Feb. 29 and March 1 is broadcast beginning at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 2. The day’s programming culminates in live coverage of the return of earthbound space yearling Scott Kelly to Houston, slated for 11:45 p.m. His welcoming committee includes Second Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Dr. John P. Holdren, NASA administrator Charles Bolden and Kelly’s identical twin brother, former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly.

A media briefing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, March 4. The briefing reviews the Year in Space’s research accomplishments and next follow-throughs for the mission’s more than 400 experiments. The panel consists of International Space Station Program chief scientist Julie Robinson, NASA’s Human Research Program associate manager John Charles and Twins Study participant Mark Kelly.

The Kelly twins are Twins Study participants, a NASA study that uniquely compares the genetics-level effects on the human body of Earth versus space living. Mark and Scott Kelly have distinction as the only space traveling siblings and twins.

Scott Kelly appears in a Media Briefing one hour later, at 2 p.m. Space yearling Scott Kelly provides personal perspectives for the successful Year in Space Mission. Time is allotted for a question-and-answer session with the media.

As earthbound space yearling Scott Kelly approaches successful mission completion, he looks forward to the fun journey in the Soyuz with station mates Misha Kornienko and Sergey Volkov. Kelly’s dreams now are all earthbound.

In a question-and-answer session Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016, via his Tumblr account, stationcdrkelly, the soon-to-be earthbound space yearling describes the path of his dreams aboard the International Space Station.

“In the beginning, most of my dreams were Earth-based. Then, they became space-based. And now as I am getting ready to return home, I am dreaming of Earth again,” Kelly shares.

Scott Kelly returns to Earth Tuesday, March 1, via Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft: Intl. Space Station @Space_Station via Twitter Feb. 28, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

(left to right) Scott Kelly, Sergey Volkov and Misha Kornienko: Sergey Volkov via Instagram post of Feb. 24, 2016, @ https://www.instagram.com/p/BCL9lTfrxnw/?taken-by=volkov_iss

Scott Kelly returns to Earth Tuesday, March 1, via Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft: Intl. Space Station‏ @Space_Station via Twitter tweet of Feb. 28, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/Space_Station/status/703976269092753409

For further information:

hq-hasenpfeffer. "hq-hasenpfeffer: Given that you are not on Earth & have not been for close to a year, how is your dream life affected? Anything out of the ordinary??" Astronaut Scott Kelly - Tumblr > Post. Feb. 13, 2016.
Available @ http://stationcdrkelly.tumblr.com/post/139244814572/given-that-you-are-not-on-earth-have-not-been

Intl. Space Station‏ @Space_Station. "After a #YearInSpace, @StationCDRKelly returns to Earth Tuesday. Watch live coverage." Twitter. Feb. 28, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Space_Station/status/703976269092753409

"ISS Live: International Space Station." ISS Tracker.
Available @ http://iss.stormway.ru/en/

Marriner, Derdriu. "Space Yearling Scott Kelly Returns to Earth Tuesday, March 1, 2016." Earth and Space News. Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/02/space-yearling-scott-kelly-returns-to.html

"Soyuz TMA-18M Mission." Russian Spaceweb.
Available @ http://www.russianspaceweb.com/iss-soyuz-tma18m.html

Субботина, Елена (Subbotina, Elena). "Космонавт Сергей Волков опубликовал новый снимок, сделанный на МКС." RGRU > Общество (Society). Feb. 25, 2016.
Available @ http://www.rg.ru/2016/02/25/kosmonavt-sergej-volkov-opublikoval-novyj-snimok-sdelannyj-na-mks.html

Wilson, Jim, ed. "TV Coverage: Scott Kelly's Return from #YearInSpace." NASA > Feature. Feb. 26, 2016.
Available @ http://www.nasa.gov/feature/tv-coverage-scott-kellys-return-from-yearinspace

"Year-in-space astronaut Scott Kelly packs for home but skips souvenir." collectSPACE > News. Feb. 26, 2016.
Available @ http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-022616a-scott-kelly-souvenir-yearinspace.html