“The hooks of the Space Station would not release our vehicle and we had to delay a few orbits before determining it just was not the right time to come home; we tried it again,” remembers Tracy Caldwell Dyson, “I do not believe at any time that our lives were ever threatened.”

“When you understand how the equipment operates you just do not get afraid, you understand the cause of the problem, its source,” cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko says, “There was no real danger to life. We just extended our flight for another 24 hours, of course it was not pleasant because it prolonged our descent for another two days, during which we did not rest at all.”

The permanent crew at the ISS has been increased from three to six members, but living 400 kilometers above Earth in space has not become in any way routine.

“You start to discover a new reality where everything floats and looking out of the window with a magnificent view is a part of everyday life,” Tracy Caldwell Dyson recalls.

“Our schedule every day was very busy and our weekends seemed to be so short, but yet still fulfilling. It is quite a privilege living in space,” she says.

“The six of us quickly started to work well together. We had a lot of work to do and we were too busy to look out of the window all the time, like some people imagine we do, though we did take photos of the Earth. But, all in all we worked well together and enjoyed it,” Mikhail Kornienko admits.