Part of ISS crew to start return to Earth at 00:06 GMT.

KOROLYOV, Moscow region, June 2 (Itar-Tass) - Russian cosmonaut Oleg
Kotov, US astronaut Timothy Creamer and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi,
who have stayed at the International Space Station for 163 days, moved to
the Soyuz TMA-17 spaceship about 01:00 hours Moscow daylight saving time
/21:00 hours GMT Tuesday/ and sealed the hatches, officials at the Space
Flights Ground Control Center near Moscow said.
Before transferring to the Soyuz, the cosmonauts gave a hearty
farewell to their colleagues who are supposed to "keep guard" of the ISS
through to June 18 when a new crew arrives aboard the Soyuz TMA-19 ship.
"The cosmonauts will spend the time left until the undocking from the
ISS inspecting the work of onboard systems of the ship, changing
spacesuits in the rather compact landing capsule, taking their places in
the chairs and then waiting for the moment when the 'Undock' command
signal is given," a spokesman for Russia's federal space agency Roskosmos
said.
The ship is due to part with the ISS at 04:06 Moscow daylight saving
time /00:06 GMT/. Right after the undocking, an automated program will be
activated to guide the ship to the projected landing spot located
southeast off the city of Dzhezkazgan in central Kazakhstan.
Some 50 minutes before the expected landing /due 03:24 GMT/, the
spaceship's engine will change over to the braking mode of operation. The
Soyuz TMA-17 will be at the altitude of 350 kilometers above the surface
of the Earth then.
As a result of braking, the ship will get off the orbit and a guided
descent to the Earth will begin.
The parachute of the landing capsule is due to unfold at the altitude
of 10.7 kilometers.
Roskosmos says everything is ready for meeting the crew on the Earth.
The landing will be assisted by eight helicopters and planes and six
rescue and evacuation vehicles.
The team of search and rescue specialists of Russia's Federal Service
for Aviation has about 200 members.
All the versions of events have been taken account of, including the
ship's landing outside the territories of Russia and Kazakhstan.
The cosmonauts/astronauts staying back at the ISS are Alexander
Skvortsov and Mikhail Korniyenko of Russia and Tracy Caldwell Dyson of the
U.S.
-0-kle