Despite the strong wind and snow, not only the Star City residents and the staff of the GCTC came to greet the crew of the 56/57 expedition to the ISS, but also the leaders of the rocket and space industry enterprises, as well as the ambassadors of the United States and Germany in Russia John Huntsman and Rüdiger von Fritsch.
The crew members of the “Soyuz MS-09” (call name “Altai”) Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopiev, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA astronaut Serena Aunon-Chancellor returned to Earth safely on December 20, 2018 after performing a 196-day flight.
Following a longstanding tradition, the crew, as well as the management of Roscosmos, the Cosmonaut Training Center, enterprises of the rocket and space industry, ambassadors and representatives of foreign space agencies laid flowers at the monument to Yuri Gagarin.
A small press-conference of the participants of the 56 / 57th long expedition to the ISS took place here.
After it, Sergei Prokopiev, Alexander Gerst and Serena Aunon-Chancellor, accompanied by high-ranking guests, the orchestra and Star City residents, walked along the Alley of Cosmonauts to the Cosmonauts House, where, according to a long-term tradition, a ceremony took place, dedicated to the ISS-56/57 crew meeting.
Ambassadors of the United States and Germany, representatives of related organizations of the rocket and space industry, foreign space agencies, municipalities and other associations, cosmonauts colleagues warmly welcomed the crew, handing memorable addresses and gifts.
At the end of the meeting, the crew of the ISS-56/57 thanks all those, who were involved in their flight.
