Image above: The crew members of Expeditions 18 and 19 bid goodbye to each other during a farewell ceremony aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV

Expedition 18 crew undocks from station

The Expedition 18 crew is on its way back to Earth.

After a farewell ceremony with the Expedition 19 crew, the departing Expedition 18 crew members, Commander Mike Fincke, KE5AIT and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, RA3DT boarded their Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft and closed the hatches around 8:45 p.m. EDT.

The Soyuz undocked from the station at 11:55 p.m. for a landing in Kazakhstan at 3:16 a.m. Wednesday. Russian recovery teams and NASA personnel are prepared to reach the crew by helicopter shortly afterwards, even in the event of a ballistic landing.

Joining Expedition 18 for the ride home is spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP who arrived at the station with the Expedition 19 crew on March 28.