Just before midnight Eastern time, Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov will command hooks and latches fastening the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft to the International Space Station to open, releasing the craft and its crew of three for a return to Earth. You can follow the Soyuz's undocking and landing in Kazakhstan live here - just click on the image above to launch a live NASA TV viewer. Coverage begins at 11:30 p.m. EDT.
Joining Lonchakov in the spacecraft's descent module in custom-fitted reclining seats are astronaut Mike Fincke and U.S. space tourist Charles Simonyi. Lonchakov is seated in the center, commanding the ship; Fincke is seated at left as the onboard engineer and Simonyi to the right.
Fincke and Lonchakov lived on the orbiting science laboratory more than 200 miles above Earth for nearly six months as members of Expedition 18 - Fincke as the commander and Lonchakov a flight engineer.
Simonyi enjoyed a 12-day stay on the station after paying Russia a reported $35 million for his ride on the Soyuz.
Lonchakov will fire thrusters to back the Soyuz away from the station and its three remaining Expedition 19 residents: Gennady Padalka, Michael Barratt and Koichi Wakata.
A 15-second separation maneuver will follow.
About two-and-a-half hours later and 12 miles from the station, Soyuz computers will trigger a 4.5-minute de-orbit burn to slow down the spacecraft, preparing it to drop out of orbit and plunge back through Earth's atmosphere.
A half-hour later, the spacecraft's orbital and propulsion modules will separate and burn up on re-entry.
The crew is scheduled to land in southeastern Kazakhstan at 3:16 a.m. EDT Wednesday.
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