The wait is almost over. Chris Williams is coming home.
After more than eight months aboard the International Space Station, the NASA astronaut is bundled into a Soyuz capsule alongside two Roscosmos cosmonauts. They are set to break free from orbit on the morning of July 26. The landing happens in Kazakhstan, right on schedule, at least as far as space travel allows.
If you want to see it happen, you need to know where to look.
How to watch the Soyuz MS-28 undocking and landing live
You don’t need a ticket. You just need an internet connection and some patience for time zones.
Space.com is streaming the events with NASA support. The coverage begins on July 25, yes, yesterday in your timeline if you read this late, but today in the real-world clock of the station. At 9:40 a.m. EDT, cameras catch a change-of-command ceremony. It’s a formality, but it marks the shift from Expedition 74 to 75. Jessica Meir takes the helm. Sergey Kud-Sverchkov hands over the keys.
Then comes the long wait. The webcast pauses. Life goes on down here.
NASA picks back up tonight, July 25, at 11:10 p.m. EDT. This is when the crew says goodbye to their counterparts still in orbit. They seal the hatches. The connection breaks. At 11:30 p.m., the hatch between the ISS and Soyuz MS‑28 closes. The capsule is now isolated. A small metal tube floating 250 miles up.
Sunday morning brings the action. Coverage restarts at 2:30 a.m. EDT. The undocking is scheduled for 3:02 a.m. EDT.
The Soyuz will separate from the lab and drift away, beginning the descent that ends with a hard landing.
By 5:15 a.m. EDT, the stream returns for the deorbit burn and the final approach. Touchdown is expected at 6:26 a.m. EDT, roughly 3.5 hours after the capsule leaves the station. It lands on the steppes near Dzhezkazgan. Dust clouds. Recovery teams rushing in.
Why the return journey matters for Expedition 75
This isn’t just a commute. It’s the end of a long shift.
The crew on Soyuz MS‑28—Williams, Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev—has been up since November 27. They launched on Thanksgiving. Now they return in the height of summer.
The stats are mind-numbing.
- Time in space: 241 days
- Orbits of Earth: 3,856
- Distance traveled: More than 102 million miles
They have watched the sunrise 15 times a day. They have seen every storm over the Pacific. Now they come back to gravity. It pulls hard.
Who is returning on Soyuz MS‑28?
It is a mixed crew. American and Russian. Three veterans of the deep dark.
Chris Williams makes his first trip. For him, this is the culmination of years of training. Every simulation led here.
Sergei Mikaev is also a first-timer. He joins the elite club of humans who have left the atmosphere.
Sergey Kud-Sverchkov has been here before. This is his second mission. He knows the rhythm of the Soyuz. He knows the G-force of reentry. He has seen this view twice
