The precise ritual of passing command in Earth's orbit
In short: Watch how leadership transitions occur on the International Space Station during formal change of command ceremonies, marking the end of one expedition and the start of the next.
These ceremonies represent a structured handover of responsibility between international space agencies. For example, Commander Scott Kelly ceremonially handed over command to Flight Engineer Dmitry Kondratyev on March 14, 2011, as Expedition 26 concluded and Expedition 27 began.
The process involves specific crew rotations where departing members return to Earth via spacecraft like the Soyuz TMA-01M, while new members join from sites like the Baikonur Cosmodrome. More recently, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke handed command of Expedition 74 to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov in January 2023.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: ISS Change of Command Marked by Ceremony
- Also: Change of Command of International Space Station to Occur - NASA
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