Soyuz space capsule carrying 2 Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut back from the International Space Station has landed safely in Kazakhstan. Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut cast off from the International Space Station and began the journey back to Earth Sunday (Sept. 16), wrapping up a four-month stay in orbit. The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Joe Acaba and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin undocked from the station at 23:09 GMT as the two spacecraft flew high above Nairobi, Kenya. The trip back to Earth will take nearly four hours, with the Soyuz expected to land in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 02:53 GMT Monday, though it will be just after sunrise at the landing site, NASA officials said.
Soyuz Landing Coverage Planned for NASA Television
NASA Television will provide live coverage of events surrounding three International Space Station crew members who are scheduled to end four months on the orbiting laboratory with a landing in Kazakhstan on Sunday, Sept. 16. Expedition 32 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba of NASA and Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin of the Russian Federal Space Agency will undock their Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft from the space station at 23:09 UT, heading for a landing at 02:53 UT. (8:53 a.m. Kazakhstan time Sept. 17) north of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. Their return will wrap up 125 days in space since their launch from Kazakhstan on May 15, including 123 days on the station. Read more
Russia's Soyuz Spacecraft Set to Dock Space Station
Russia's Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft is set to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday morning at 8:52 a.m. Moscow time (4:52 GMT), the Mission Control center said. Read more
A Russian Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft launched to the International Space Station on July 15 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Inside the spacecraft for the two-day journey are Expedition 32/33 Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko, NASA Flight Engineer Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the station's next crew. The trio will dock to the station July 17 to start a four month tour, joining station Commander Gennady Padalka, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, who have been on the outpost since mid-May.