# Soyuz Spacecraft: From The Time The Astronaut Hits The Ejection Button Until Landing **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-spacecraft-from-the-time-the-astronaut-hits-the-ejection-button-until-landing/742040 "2016-01-03T03:18:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-spacecraft-from-the-time-the-astronaut-hits-the-ejection-button-until-landing/742040/1 "2016-01-03T03:18:25Z")
A plot point in a TV show I watch involves an astronaut abandoning the ISS in the Soyuz. How long will it take him, from the time he hits the “Eject” button (or whatever) until he lands? ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-spacecraft-from-the-time-the-astronaut-hits-the-ejection-button-until-landing/742040/2 "2016-01-03T03:38:48Z")
[Three hours and 23 minutes.](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/soyuz/landing_timeline.html) Most of this time is spent moving slowly away from the ISS (at a relative speed of about 4-5 miles per hour); presumably they want to be far enough away from the ISS before firing the re-entry rockets, and the first thrusters they fire can only give them so much velocity. ---
**Author:** ![sbunny8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-spacecraft-from-the-time-the-astronaut-hits-the-ejection-button-until-landing/742040/3 "2016-01-03T17:12:08Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > [Three hours and 23 minutes.](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/soyuz/landing_timeline.html) Most of this time is spent moving slowly away from the ISS (at a relative speed of about 4-5 miles per hour); presumably they want to be far enough away from the ISS before firing the re-entry rockets, and the first thrusters they fire can only give them so much velocity. But if you are going to _ **abandon** _ the ISS and you don’t care about damaging it by firing the retro rockets too close, you could do the whole thing in just under an hour. Instead of this… 3 minutes for undocking 3 more minutes to drift 20 meters 15 seconds for a separation burn 2 hours 20 minutes to drift 20 km 4 minutes 21 seconds firing the retro rockets and then about 49 1/2 minutes to touchdown total time 3 hours 23 minutes you could do this… 3 minutes for undocking then just go ahead and fire the retro rockets for 4 minutes 21 seconds and then about 49 1/2 minutes to touchdown total time 57 minutes ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-spacecraft-from-the-time-the-astronaut-hits-the-ejection-button-until-landing/742040/4 "2016-01-04T19:31:01Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > A plot point in a TV show I watch involves an astronaut abandoning the ISS in the Soyuz. How long will it take him, from the time he hits the “Eject” button (or whatever) until he lands? I don’t get it. Is the OP talking about breaking away from a space station in a re-entry vehicle and landing it? Or abandoning the vehicle, and somehow losing enough seed and altitude until a few wisps of his ashes eventually make it back to earth? ---
**Author:** ![sbunny8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-spacecraft-from-the-time-the-astronaut-hits-the-ejection-button-until-landing/742040/5 "2016-01-04T21:13:32Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I don’t get it. Is the OP talking about breaking away from a space station in a re-entry vehicle and landing it? I think so, yes > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Or abandoning the vehicle, and somehow losing enough seed and altitude until a few wisps of his ashes eventually make it back to earth? It’s very doubtful that such a scenario would be a plot point in a TV show. But if you have an answer for that interpretation, I don’t see the harm in posting it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-spacecraft-from-the-time-the-astronaut-hits-the-ejection-button-until-landing/742040/6 "2016-01-04T21:29:01Z")
ETA: @ **Boyo Jim** ; forgot to refresh. Again … It seems pretty clear to me he’s talking about entering ISS’s Soyuz lifeboat and pushing the “Launch lifeboat back to Earth” button. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-spacecraft-from-the-time-the-astronaut-hits-the-ejection-button-until-landing/742040/7 "2016-01-05T19:08:16Z")
As an aside, I suspect that the show referred to in the OP is _Last Man on Earth,_in which a character does climb into a capsule from on board the ISS and hits “eject”. The capsule that was shown on that show didn’t quite look like a Soyuz to me, but I could be wrong (there was a lot going on during the part of the episode when the capsule was shown, so I’ll admit to not paying 100% attention.)