Oct 23, 2008
Garriott to Return Tonight: Rough Ride Ahead?
Space “tourist” Richard Garriott is schedule to return to earth tonight, along with two cosmonauts. But it might be rough.
The Soyuz spacecraft, which has been in operation since the 1960′s (in earlier iterations) has been having bumpy—seriously bumpy—landings recently.
The last 2 Soyuz landings, both in 2007, came down hard. They call it a “ballistic re-entry”. Returnees get banged up pretty good, and the landing is off course. But they say it isn’t dangerous. After her “ballistic re-entry” on a Soyuz spacecraft, astronaut Peggy Whitson described the experience as “irregular, but not an emergency.”
In any case, we wish the current crew “happy landings”…
UPDATE: Garriott and the rest have reportedly returned safely…in a normal landing.
