The capsule is on its side. How cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky returned to Earth to his wife from the Voronezh region

Expedition 51 spent more than six months on the International Space Station. Viewers of the ONT TV channel were also watching the work of the cosmonauts all this time. Every week our correspondents introduced us to life on the ISS, as well as everything that happens at the Mission Control Center. And today the ONT film crew watched the landing in the steppes of Kazakhstan. How long was the journey home and who was waiting for the astronauts? The crew with the call sign “Kazbek” was met by Svetlana Karulskaya.

Landing spaceship– one of the main and most important stages of a successful “star” business trip. For Belarusian Oleg Novitsky, this is already the second exam, which he, as the commander of the Soyuz spacecraft, managed to pass with excellent marks. 197 days at an altitude of 400 kilometers without emergency situations, dozens of scientific experiments conducted in orbit. And the main thing is an accident-free meeting with the Earth.

Mission Control began preparing a meeting for the ISS Expedition 51 crew a few weeks before landing. The most suitable ballistics area was identified as an area located 147 kilometers southeast of the city of Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan. The participants of the search and rescue operation went there in three more days: transport aviation, 14 units of vehicles, six all-terrain search and recovery vehicles and 150 military personnel. All this time, their work was coordinated by MCC specialists. At 10 a.m. Korolev gave the command to close the transfer hatches between the ISS and the Rassvet docking module». After checking all the main systems, the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft undocked and headed for Earth. The journey home took the astronauts just over three hours.

In the Soyuz, only two crew members were returning home today: Belarusian Novitsky and Frenchman Thomas Pesquet. The ISS commander, American Peggy Whitson, who launched on Soyuz MS-03, has had her mission extended for another four months.

The hatches are open, and the astronauts can finally breathe in the steppe air. Their first minutes on earth are closely watched by their relatives. For Yulia Novitskaya, the wait for Oleg was the longest. The eldest daughter Yana went to the start at Baikonur. Yulia, with her youngest Rita, watched everything from the Mission Control Center hall. Now, he says, you can finally relinquish your responsibilities as the head of the family and just be a wife. The favorite potato pie that Oleg ordered for planting is already ready.

Yulia Novitskaya, wife of cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky : « He ordered fried pork ribs and potato pie. The ribs are already fried, but the pie is still in progress. I’ll finish it when I get home.”

Yana Novitskaya, daughter of cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky: “We prepared a balloon rocket for dad. She stands and waits for him at home. And the same inscription from balloons: “Happy landing!”

From the screenshots of the Control Center, relatives can see how difficult it is for the astronauts. Landing is a huge stress for the body. The doctors are the first to be admitted to the crew. Right in the steppe, doctors conduct a field test: they measure all vital signs and study how the lack of gravity affects the body. It seems that overcoming is also part of the “star” profession. Now the astronauts will do this work at home.

It is too early to say that Oleg Novitsky has completely finished his business trip. Tonight the crew of the 51st ISS Expedition is scheduled to fly from Kazakhstan to Moscow. Relatives will be able to see the astronauts at the airport. And right from there, doctors will take Oleg Novitsky and Tom Pesquet to the dispensary, where the rehabilitation period and a series of post-flight experiments will begin. Judging by the fact that Oleg Novitsky scheduled a meeting with journalists on Monday, the recovery of our fellow countryman will not be long.

02.06.2017 - 20:40

News of Belarus. Starry return to earth. Our compatriot Oleg Novitsky completed his last space flight on June 2. The truly national cosmonaut spent 197 days on the international space station, as reported in the “24 Hours” News program on STV.

However, he was in touch with us all this time. He congratulated Belarus and periodically other cities from space and kept in weightlessness a very important and dear thing to himself - the Belarusian flag. Precisely Novitsky.

By the way, our fellow countryman landed in central Kazakhstan. In a few days the cosmonaut will be in Moscow. So he will fulfill his “cosmic” dream of “walking barefoot on the earth” in the coming hours. They are also waiting for him in Belarus, especially in the cosmonaut’s native Cherven. After all, it was there that Novitsky’s first small step turned out to be huge – for astronautics as a whole.

Thanks to the Internet, he himself told and showed how Belarusian Oleg Novitsky, the third in the history of manned cosmonautics, spent more than six months on the ISS.

Oleg Novitsky, cosmonaut:
Hi all! I am cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky.

For 196 days, 17 hours and 29 minutes, he did not set foot on the ground. Almost 400 kilometers above the planet. It’s just like from Minsk to Brest, but a completely different world. As Novitsky himself admits more than once, this is where true friendship is learned.

Here it is - the magnificent six - with the number 50 at the very heart - this is an anniversary expedition.

Photos of Gagarin, Popov and, of course, what reminds us so much of our homeland.

Oleg Novitsky, cosmonaut:
I would like to convey greetings to my native Belarus. To all my fellow countrymen.

And this is Novitsky’s space apartment. By earthly standards, it’s not space at all – just a couple of square meters.

But what a view from the window.

From this window it’s all great: here is the island of Rhodes, which looks like a bat, Volgograd at night (why not a crocodile), the famous palm tree in the Emirates - which of us has seen it like this. And, of course, Minsk, so reminiscent of a fiery bicycle.

Oleg Novitsky, cosmonaut:
I hasten to please my fellow countrymen! Finally today we managed to take a photo of Minsk at night!

Minsk will be captured by our star fellow countryman more than once. Day and night. There will be both Gomel and Brest.

But here it is – Novitsky’s main earthly photograph – a family in a porthole. It was she who warmed the soul so much all these long months.

March 25 is the most joyful and at the same time saddest day of the space odyssey. The youngest daughter is exactly one year old.

Oleg Novitsky, cosmonaut:
This morning my wife sent me a photo taken exactly a year ago. Ritukha has been here for 48 minutes, and they have already given me to hold her.

But supporting your neighbor is the main principle of cosmic coexistence. There is no ambulance or hairdresser here.

Here, next to Novitsky is the same Frenchman with whom we flew home together today.

Oleg Novitsky, cosmonaut:
I work as a space hairdresser. And on the side is everything you need to shave, brush your teeth and comb your hair.

But these are moments of happiness - parcels from Earth - from those closest to you.

Oleg Novitsky, cosmonaut:
A package from Earth: birch sap, a Belarusian T-shirt and chocolate.

He who works well eats well. Lunch in space must be scheduled. The main principle is natural, satisfying and healthy. By the way, the chief space chef, also from Belarus, prepares such dinners on Earth. And the stellar menu is like in the best houses.

Oleg Novitsky, cosmonaut:
Stewed eggplants with potatoes, beet salad, overseas eggplant caviar and assorted meats.

Over the course of six months on the ISS, Novitsky conducted hundreds of scientific experiments. Here, for example, is one of them: to find out how the usual loads for earthlings act in zero gravity.

Or here’s another: how the composition of the blood changes when there is a lack of oxygen.

And this, attention, is providing first aid in zero gravity. This is exactly how a heart massage is given in space.

Oleg Novitsky, cosmonaut:
Yes, yes, upside down and hooking your feet on the handrail. And it won’t work any other way in space.

For physical activity at such a height, physical fitness must be at the level. Although body weight in zero gravity is a relative thing. And it’s not easy to measure.

But life on the ISS is not only about scientific experiments. These are also the most ordinary everyday life in space, where nothing human is alien even to a superman. As it was with Exupery: get up in the morning and put the planet in order. Or at least a space station.

General cleaning on the ISS, as on Earth, before the holidays.

All holidays on the ISS necessarily mean congratulations from space. February 23 – to the defenders of the Fatherland, March 8 – to the beautiful half of the Earth. And, of course, Happy Great Victory Day to everyone.

Oleg Novitsky, cosmonaut:
These are my grandparents. Thanks to them for their feat and for the peaceful sky above our heads.

The sky above is not about a space station. The sky is everywhere here. But it is best seen from the dome. Here he is a few hours before landing. The last photo of Novitsky on board the ISS.

Oleg Novitsky, cosmonaut:
On Earth, I will miss these mesmerizing cosmic landscapes.

He arrived, but promised to return - to his stars. And more than once, be sure to say that same “Gagarin” - “Let's go”!

Oleg Novitsky, cosmonaut:
Just raise your head and the stars will get closer.

In an interview in May, he told us: “I really want to walk the Earth.” And so, the commander of the manned transport spacecraft Soyuz MS-03, Oleg Novitsky, and the French flight engineer Thomas Pesquet, who spent six months in space, today will set off on a space flight home - to Earth.


It was previously planned that the crew would return on May 16. Now on board the ISS will remain American astronaut Peggy Whitson, who flew with them to the station - her expedition was extended for several more months, as well as cosmonaut Fedor Yurchikhin and astronaut Jack Fisher.

Before the flight, Oleg Novitsky posted a photo on his Instagram against the backdrop of the station’s dome, captioning it: “ On Earth I will miss these mesmerizing cosmic landscapes", as well as a general photo with the crew, the process of preparing for the return to Earth.

According to Roscosmos, the undocking of the manned transport spacecraft is planned for 13.50 Moscow time, and landing at 17.10. You can watch the flight live broadcast on website. Relatives and friends of Oleg Novitsky will watch the landing at the Mission Control Center. It is planned that the ISS crew of Expedition 50/51 will end up in Kazakhstan – 147 kilometers south of the city of Zhezkazgan.

Already on June 5, a press conference by Oleg Novitsky is planned at the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yuri Gagarin.

Photo from the archives of Novitsky and Roscosmos

The crew members of the manned transport spacecraft Soyuz MS-03 returned safely to Earth from the International Space Station. The descent module with cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet landed in the Kazakh steppe on June 2, 2017 at 17.10 Moscow time.

All operations for descent from orbit and landing went smoothly. The health of the crew members who returned to Earth is good. The duration of Oleg and Tom's space flight was more than 196 days.

“During their stay on the ISS from November 20, 2016, the crew completed a program of scientific and applied research and experiments under the program of long-term expeditions ISS-50 and ISS-51, maintained the functionality of the ISS and carried out work to retrofit it with equipment delivered by cargo ships,” it is indicated in a message from Roscosmos.

Three days earlier, Roscosmos reported that viable spores and DNA fragments of microorganisms resistant to the adverse factors of space were discovered in the ISS orbit at an altitude of 400 km.

Within space experiment(CE) “Test” Roscosmos cosmonauts collected 19 samples cosmic dust from the surface of the ISS during exits to open space. Studies of cosmic dust samples from the ISS have twice shown the presence of representatives of the genera Mycobacteria and Delftia in the samples; the family Comamonadaceae of the order Burkholderiales, which are representatives of typical terrestrial and marine genera of bacteria.

The detection statistics of viable units of spore bacteria (genus Bacillus) and fungal spores (genus Aureobasidium) in the conducted CE “Test” sessions is about 45%. Application of highly sensitive molecular methods allowed in 70% of cases not only to identify DNA fragments of the genomes of various microorganisms, but also to determine their type.

The obtained experimental data on chemical composition samples of fine sedimentary environment on the surface of the ISS allowed us to draw a conclusion about the geochemical composition of cosmic dust at an altitude of 400 km above the Earth’s surface and its sources. According to scientists, this proves the hypothesis of an external tropospheric source of living organisms and suggests the possibility of transfer of aerosol matter from the troposphere to ionospheric heights.

On April 16, 2017, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' congratulated Russian ISS crew member Oleg Novitsky on Easter in the format of a teleconference organized in the church.

“You are now alone on a space watch for the whole of Russia, so I would like to cordially congratulate you and wish God’s help in your work, health, strength, and peace of mind. So that your stay in orbit is calm and that your return (to Earth) is happy,” he said.

The Patriarch noted that success in astronautics is of great importance for the entire country.

On April 24, 2017, US President Donald called the International Space Station. Trump congratulated Peggy, the first female commander of the ISS, for setting the record for the longest stay in space among American astronauts. Whitson reportedly beat her colleague's previous record of 534 days, 2 hours and 48 minutes in space.

According to the US President, he admires American astronauts more than any politician in Washington. During her conversation with Trump, Whitson emphasized that she was honored to set a new record.

Whitson's other records include: greatest number spacewalks performed by a female astronaut. She is also the first woman to twice lead the International space station. Whitson first went into space in 2002 and already in 2007 became the first woman to command the ISS.

The absolute record holder for the longest stay in space is a Russian cosmonaut who decided to leave the cosmonaut corps. He spent 879 days in space.

At the end of April 2017, the cosmonaut said that today international cooperation in the space sector has become denser than twenty years ago.

“Twenty years ago we were already engaged in quite close international cooperation, carrying out joint scientific works. Before that there were Soyuz - Apollo and the first handshakes in orbit, joint flights on the Shuttle and Mir,” the specialist explained.

Russian cosmonaut, former cadet of the Borisoglebsk Flight School Oleg Novitsky returned from his second space flight June 3, 2017. The astronaut will undergo rehabilitation until June 24. The cosmonaut’s wife, a native of Borisoglebsk, told a RIA Voronezh journalist about how the landing went. Voronezh region, journalist Yulia Novitskaya.

Earth without a globe

The Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on November 17, 2016. The ship's commander, Novitsky, and flight engineers Peggy Whitson and Tom Pesce spent 196 days away from their families and Earth. During this time, Oleg Novitsky, as part of an international expedition, conducted more than 40 scientific experiments and experiments.

Preparations for the descent to Earth began a month in advance. Over the last week, it took three to four hours to repeat the action algorithm step by step.

Descent is a long process and is considered the most dangerous stage in space flight. After undocking the descent vehicle and the ISS, the descent lasts more than three hours.

– When the astronauts are convinced that the orientation is correct, they have a few minutes to look at the Earth through the windows. Many of the guys admitted that their impression was completely different from what they had six months ago during the flight to the station. Through the windows they immediately recognize the places they are flying over. And there is no need to look at the globe to understand where you are,” said the cosmonaut’s wife, Yulia.

Astronauts are forbidden to speak

After undocking, Oleg reported to Earth that the integrity of the docking station had not been compromised. Then - checking the sensors of the equipment in the descent module, which no one touched for more than six months.

For some time the ship flies with its engines turned on. Then the automation turns them off, and the spacecraft artificial satellite turns into a stone that “falls” to the Earth along a ballistic trajectory. This is followed by a characteristic sound and blow - this is the moment the lines come out and the parachute opens, first the pilot chute, then the main one.

Overload again, severe shaking and rocking. Then re-hooking and twisting. The crew feels all this physically. And so they descend under a parachute.

All this time, the commander reports on the condition of the crew and the operation of the instruments. Silence occurs only 450 m above the Earth. To avoid biting off their tongue or breaking their jaw during landing, astronauts are forbidden to speak. Arms are crossed on the chest, on-board documentation lies on the knees. A little more, and a very strong impact on the Earth follows.

– When I interview astronauts, I often ask them about their sensations during landing. Pilot-cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev told me that the moment of landing can be compared to hitting a metal side on a hockey rink. When someone crashes into you with all their might, you hit the side and feel the taste of blood in your mouth,” said Yulia Novitskaya.

Earth gravity

The Soyuz capsule, blackened and burned from passing through plasma, landed on its side in the Kazakh steppe. The rescuers who controlled the descent arrived, turned the apparatus over, opened the hatch, pulled out the astronauts and carried them in their arms to pre-prepared chairs.

The cosmonauts spent the first half hour in chairs - doctors do not allow them to move, as the body gets used to gravity. But even after several hours, the astronauts’ movements, like the first steps of babies, are uncertain and shaky.

– You have to put in a lot of effort, it’s difficult to maintain your balance. If you shake your head, you immediately lose coordination: you seem to be walking straight, but you feel that you are starting to fall over, and you want to find a foothold. “It’s an unpleasant feeling,” Oleg Novitsky told his wife.

From that moment on, the astronauts came under the vigilant minute-by-minute control of doctors. The acute rehabilitation period lasts 21 days.

Unsteady gait, but with a smile

Yulia Novitskaya watched the return of her husband from the Mission Control Center in the city of Korolev. The whole family came to watch the video broadcast: with their eldest daughter Yana and one-year-old Rita. This was the second meeting from the space trip of my beloved husband and father.

The meeting of the cosmonauts with their relatives took place a few hours later at the Chkalov airfield. Oleg Novitsky descended the ramp with an unsteady gait, but, as always, with a smile, which even on his first flight one of the journalists compared to Gagarin’s.

“We can’t say that it was easier for us the second time.” Rather, it would be appropriate to use another word here – clearer. But the very wait for my husband to return from this flight was more difficult. “Seven months is a very long time,” Yulia shared with a journalist from RIA Voronezh.

In 2012, after Oleg Novitsky’s first flight, the cosmonauts went to Star City lying down on a bus. Then Julia asked her husband if he wanted to go into space again. Oleg, who was unable to even lightly squeeze his wife’s hand, answered without hesitation: “I want.”

This time Oleg rode half-sitting on a reclined seat, but still just as exhausted. Julia, taking her husband’s hand, did not dare ask him the same question.

- I know his answer. This is his job, and flying into space is life for him,” admitted Yulia.

Information from RIA Voronezh

Oleg Novitsky was born on October 12, 1971 in the Belarusian city of Cherven. After high school entered the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School named after Chkalov. After the school was disbanded, he continued his studies at the Yeisk Higher Military Aviation School for Pilots. In connection with the reorganization of the school, he transferred in 1994 to the pilot school in Volgograd.

In 2006 he graduated from the command faculty Air Force Academy named after Gagarin, majoring in “Management” military units and connections air force" After graduating from the academy, he was the squadron commander of the assault aviation regiment of the 1st Guards Mixed Aviation Division of the 4th Air Force and Air Defense Army of the North Caucasus Military District. 2nd class military pilot, mastered the L-39 and Su-25 aircraft. Total flight time is about 700 hours.

Oleg Novitsky was selected for the cosmonaut corps when he was 34 years old. After several years of preparation, in May 2012 he went on his first flight into space, where he was the commander of the Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft. In addition to Oleg Novitsky, the crew also included Kevin Ford from the USA. The flight duration was 143 days.