07:29
At this stage, the crew must
07:31
pay special attention to prepare for the next
07:34
critical operation: the Deorbit Burn
07:38
As can be seen, although the Soyuz is now
07:40
far away from the Station, it is still orbiting
07:44
the Earth at an altitude close to that of the ISS
07:47
The purpose of the Deorbit Burn is to force the Soyuz to decrease its speed
07:52
As a result, the trajectory of the vehicle changes and it re-enters the atmosphere
07:58
The atmosphere acts as a natural brake and does most of the work
08:02
in slowing the Soyuz down until a set of parachutes opens
08:06
and ensures a relatively soft landing
08:10
This braking is achieved by
08:11
using the main engine located in the rear side of the spacecraft
08:15
to push against the direction of travel
08:18
The required orientation and duration of the
08:20
braking impulse must be precisely calculated
08:23
and achieved because it directly influences
08:26
the steepness of the re-entry path
08:29
If we don't burn enough,
08:31
then we have still too much speed and we will still be too high
08:34
in the atmosphere and we can actually skip off the atmosphere
08:37
and then go further into space and that of couse would not be a successful re-entry
08:43
On the other hand, if we burn too much and we come in too steep
08:46
then we will have too much speed when we are in the lower parts of the atmosphere
08:51
the heat that is normally around 2000 degree Celsius
08:54
will be much higher and we have the risk of burning up
08:58
So also therefore is very critical that we do the correct deorbit burn
09:02
and that we really fix this around 120 m/s
09:09
To achieve the correct burn, the main engine fires
09:12
for exactly four minutes and forty five seconds
09:22
The Soyuz now follows a trajectory that will lead
09:25
it to intercept the dense layers of the atmosphere,
09:28
leading to a safe re-entry and landing, about 55 minutes later
09:36
As the vehicle travels along its trajectory, about 30 minutes before
09:40
landing and at an altitude of roughly 140 km,
09:43
it separates into three parts: the orbital module, the descent module
09:49
and the instrument compartment
09:51
There is no chance of the individual modules colliding with
09:54
each other, this is called impact-less separation
09:58
Only the descent module hosting the crew will make it back safely to Earth
10:03
The other two will disintegrate and burn up in the atmosphere
10:08
The separation of the spacecraft into three parts is happening through
10:14
several seconds, because there are several
10:16
parts that get detached one after the other
10:19
All this action is done with explosive bolts or with explosive implements
10:26
Seen from the inside of the spacecraft, it felt like
10:29
there was somebody outside the spacecraft with a sledgehammer that
10:33
was hammering here and there, up and down so every few
10:38
milliseconds the spacecraft was shaking with this
10:41
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
10:43
It felt really interesting actually!
10:51
The descent module experiences extreme high temperatures
10:55
during re-entry, so to protect it, and the crew inside,
10:59
it is fitted with a special protective
11:01
coating and has a heat shield on its base
11:04
As the atmosphere becomes more dense, the descent module
11:07
positions itself so that its heat shield points forward
11:11
The capsule is about to enter the Earthís atmosphere
11:15
This will be the most stressful part of its journey home
11:18
By the time we were supposed to re-enter
11:21
the atmosphere, I actually looked out from our
11:23
window and I actually looked we were tumbling and I was a little bit puzzled
11:29
because I thought we needed to re-enter with a special angle,
11:33
so I started looking at procedures, we did a few things and when I looked out again
11:38
I saw that we were already inside this plasma, it was getting
11:44
really red and actually the window was getting pretty dark
11:47
what was happening was that
11:49
the plasma stream was actually burning the outside layer of
11:53
the window which has a protective cover
11:56
So it was kind of interesting, at that point I did not feel that much I mean
12:01
the gravity starts grabbing you but it is very
12:05
gentle at the beginning and you actually use it
12:08
to feel or go into the seats and buckle up,
12:13
pull your straps so that you really lay into the seat
12:17
It was an interesting feeling
12:19
The descent module follows a path that is similar in shape
12:23
to that made by a surfer riding a big wave
12:26
Like a surfer, the Soyuz is able to make small adjustments to keep itself on track
12:32
So, how is the trajectory of a free falling capsule controlled?
12:38
Even though it does not have wings, the Soyuz
12:41
capsule is able to change the way it flies through the air
12:44
The design of the Soyuz enables it to do this
12:46
The capsuleís lift increases when it rotates in one direction
12:50
and decreases if it rotates in the opposite direction
12:53
In this way, the capsule is able to keep to its planned trajectory
12:58
As a side effect, this rotation also induces
13:01
a sideways displacement of the module
13:03
This effect is very useful because it gives
13:06
more flexibility for the selection of the landing site
13:10
This sideways manoeuver has already been taken
13:13
into account when selecting the optimum trajectory
13:20
During the descent in the atmosphere, the crew feels the effect of
1
3:23
the deceleration when their weight exceeds
13:26
several times their own weight on the ground
13:28
The maximum G-load (4G) is experienced when the capsule reaches an
13:33
altitude of roughly 35 km while
13:36
it has already been travelling for 6 to 7 minutes in the atmosphere
13:40
Gravity is a very, very strong force
13:43
We do not understand here on Earth how gravity
13:46
has such a hold on our body and what is around us
13:50
You do feel it when you come back from space
13:53
because now you have been in a non-gravity environment
13:58
for a long time and then you see all these forces grabbing you
14:03
You look at stuff and you feel your hands are heavy,
14:06
you feel your watch weights a ton, your books, the materials
14:10
around you, your head is extremely heavy
14:12
It is really a very strong feeling
14:16
In the unlikely event that the automatic control system fails,
14:21
the crew is able to use a manual hand controller as a backup
14:24
They train extensively to prepare for this possibility
14:29
Another option is the ballistic descent
14:32
The spacecraft starts spinning and flies a much steeper trajectory
14:36
without any additional sideways displacement
14:39
The G-load in this case will increase up to 9
14:45
When the capsule reaches an altitude of 10.5 km, its speed
14:49
has already decreased from 28000 to 800 km/h
14:54
In order to further decrease the speed, the parachute cover
14:58
is jettisoned and a series of parachutes are deployed
15:02
At the end of the atmospheric re-entry, you really start hearing
15:05
the noise of the wind and the sound, you are almost breaking the sound barrier
15:10
Then, in the opposite direction of course you are coming back into
15:13
the normal area of flying
15:23
This is around 30000 feet that the parachute has to open
15:27
This is actually a very critical moment and is one of the
15:30
only things in the Soyuz where the crew does not have a manual override
15:34
So this is only an automated system
15:36
So far, it has always worked and we also have a backup parachute that can
15:40
help us in case that the main will not open
15:42
But it is also a very violent moment,
15:44
you can imagine this 2000 kilogram capsule
15:47
that is soaring at the speed of sound through the atmosphere
15:51
and then all of the sudden you have a parachute
15:53
that opens on the side and that pulls on you, like a little swing,
15:58
It is almost like a yo-yo and you see the capsule going all around
16:01
It is much worse than in a roller coaster because
16:04
the motion is in all directions and it is a little bit
16:07
scary for some of us, for some others it can also be fun
16:11
because they are like "Wow this is the best ride I've ever had!"
16:14
Then, a few minutes later, at a height of 8.5 km, the drogue chute
16:19
finally deploys the 1000 square metre canopy of the main parachute
16:27
This slows the capsule down to a speed of 22 km/h
16:32
The capsule is suspended under the parachute
16:34
with a specific angle relative to the ground
16:37
This angle helps the capsule to dissipate the heat accumulated
16:41
on its surface and structure during the re-entry
16:44
But then everything calms down, of course once that the main parachute
16:48
has deployed you really come to the calm air after this whole violent
16:53
re-entry, the violent opening of the parachute,
16:55
then you are hanging safely, slowly descending
16:58
to the Earth underneath your parachute
17:00
and this is actually the first time that you know:
17:03
Yes, I am safe, we are going to make it!
17:08
At an altitude of roughly 5.5 km,
17:11
the frontal heat shield and external window glass are jettisoned
17:16
The capsule vents excess fuel and oxygen from pressurised tanks,
17:20
to reduce any chance of an explosion when it hits the ground
17:24
In order to position the spacecraft adequately for the landing,
17:27
the main canopy switches to symmetric suspension
17:31
This setup ensures that the cosmonauts' seats are now
17:33
perfectly positioned to absorb the landing impact shock
17:38
The retrorockets that were hidden behind the heat shield
17:41
are prepared for firing
17:43
Inside the capsule, the crew seats automatically raise
17:47
in order to prepare shock absorbers
17:50
Usually, the Search and Rescue Team equipped with aircraft
17:54
and helicopters starts tracking the Soyuz capsule
17:57
even before the very first parachute is deployed
18:00
The helicopters land next to the capsule shortly after touch down
18:04
and the team help the crew to exit
18:06
Finally, 70 cm above the ground, the six retro rockets fire
18:11
to further reduce the capsule speed to approximately 5 km/h
18:16
The capsule hits the ground but the crew seats continue
18:19
moving down and shock absorbers help to make the landing softer for the crew
18:26
The soft landing is not really soft,
18:30
You prepare for it by putting your arms against your body, not touching
18:34
any of the metallic parts, hold your books against you, you are not talking
18:39
not to put the tongue in the middle of your teeth and you are lying there trying
18:44
to be as inside your seat as well as you can
18:48
and you are waiting for this "soft landing" to happen,
18:52
which for me felt like a head-on collision between a truck and a small car
18:59
and of course I was in the small car, so when this happened it was like
19:03
BA-DA-BOOM!
19:04
everything shook, I was kind of shaking in there,
19:07
everything was, and then... silence everything
was stopped
19:12
So I looked a little bit around, I looked at my crew members and then I said:
19:17
Hey guys, Welcome back to Earth!
19:20
Once landed, one of the first actions
19:22
of the crew commander is to release
19:25
one of the two ropes that connect the capsule to the parachute
19:28
This is important, as in windy conditions, it prevents
19:32
the capsule from being dragged away on the ground by the inflated parachute
19:37
You know that you are on the ground, you hear the voices of the rescue troops
19:41
that are next to you and you know that 5 minutes later they will open up the hatch
19:46
and you can breathe fresh air
19:49
The crew is now safely back on Earth
19:52
They will soon be reunited with their families and begin
19:55
the rehabilitation process, after their extraordinary journey
Chapter Five
Trouble nu set like rain
Problems often arrive without warning
Rynelle at airport
Chapter Six
When cockroach mek dance e no invite fowl
Don't invite trouble.
Joe arrives at airport - Brownie, sticker
Chapter Seven
Yu shake man han, yu nu shake him heart
Appearances can be deceiving
Taxi cab ride - Joe and Rynelle
Chapter Eight
Fowl gwine fat im begin fram him toe
Adult behaviours begin in childhood
Rynelle walks to university
security guy at gate
fuming
just like her father
Chapter Nine
Mischief come by di poun and go by di ounce
It only takes a little effort or few words to start a lot of trouble.
Joe at first hotel with taxi driver
receptionist
phone call
Chapter Ten
Moon run faas but day ketch im
Your actions and misdeeds will eventually have consequences.
phone call - caught out by driver
drive to new hotel
Joe finds ID badge
check in
Chapter Eleven
Play stone kill bud
All the Clues Page 3
