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WATCH LIVE: An astronaut who spent a year in space is returning to Earth

Rebecca Harrington   

WATCH LIVE: An astronaut who spent a year in space is returning to Earth

scott kelly

NASA

Scott Kelly.

NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly finally comes back to Earth tonight after spending just shy of a year in space.

On March 1, his 340th day aboard the International Space Station (ISS), he'll board the Soyuz spacecraft and cruise back down to the ground.

Undocking of the Soyuz from the ISS is scheduled for 8:02 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 1 (though coverage will start sooner).

Once the capsule reaches 400,000 feet above the Earth (the ISS orbits at 249 miles), the planet's atmosphere will be thick enough to start slowing it down.

Fifteen minutes before landing, the parachutes deploy. The Soyuz will go from traveling 755 feet per second to just 5 feet per second when it lands. A quick engine burst will further slow it down when it's just 2.6 feet off the ground.

soyuz landing

NASA

What it will look like when Scott Kelly lands in the Soyuz spacecraft tonight.

The landing is still bumpy, so crew seats have cushy, shock-absorbing liners.

Kelly is landing in the desert of Kazakhstan, so he's expected to arrive at 11:25 p.m. ET, which is mid-morning on March 2 local time.

You can watch the entire journey, beginning with coverage of the farewell around 4:15 p.m. ET, the undocking around 7:45 p.m. ET, and the deorbit and landing around 10:15 p.m. ET in the livestream below. You can also try this link if you have problems with that video. Or tune into channel 352 on your actual television if you have DIRECTV.

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