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A veteran Russian cosmonaut and two International Space Station crewmates, one from the United States and one from Germany, returned safely to Earth on Sunday with a parachute landing of their Soyuz capsule in Kazakhstan, ending 5-1/2 months in orbit.

Maxim Suraev of the Russian space agency, who was commander of the station during the mission, climbed into the Soyuz craft with NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and German flight engineer Alexander Gerst from the European Space Agency and departed the orbital outpost at 7:31 p.m. EST.

About 3-1/2 hours later, the capsule descended through cold, windy and overcast skies to touch down on the frozen steppes northeast of Arkalyk.

Early-morning temperatures in Kazakhstan registered just -5 degrees Celsius, mission commentator Rob Navias said on a live NASA Television broadcast of the landing.

Recovery teams were standing by to help Suraev, Wiseman and Gerst out of their capsule, the same spacecraft they rode to reach the station on May 28.

The crew's last few weeks in orbit were among the busiest of their mission, with the departure of a Dragon cargo capsule sent to the station by private launch company Space Exploration Technologies and the arrival of a Russian freighter.

The Russian cargo ship docked with the station less than a day after an unmanned Orbital Sciences Corp. rocket carrying another supply capsule bound for the space station exploded seconds after liftoff from Virginia.

"Its been an honor and a privilege to spend 165 days up here. With that said, Im looking forward to heading home," Wiseman said during a change-of-command ceremony carried live from the space station on NASA Television.

Two other Russian cosmonauts and the newly named station commander, NASA astronaut Barry Butch Wilmore, remained aboard the orbital outpost, a $100-billion research laboratory that flies about 260 miles (418 km) above Earth.

They will be joined on Nov. 23 by cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Italys Samantha Cristoforetti, who will fly aboard another Soyuz capsule launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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Space station crewmen return safely to Earth

Three spacefliers wrapped up five and a half months of duty on the International Space Station on Sunday and descended to a safe landing on the frozen steppes of Kazakhstan in a Russian Soyuz capsule.

The Soyuz craft made a parachute landing northeast of the remote town of Arkalyk at 10:58 p.m. ET (9:58 a.m. local time Monday).

"Its been an honor and a privilege to spend 165 days up here. With that said, Im looking forward to heading home," NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman said during a change-of-command ceremony in advance of the trip back to Earth. Joining Wiseman were the outgoing station commander, Russia's Maxim Suraev, and German astronaut Alexander Gerst.

"Its not easy to part from the station," the crew members radioed to Russian flight controllers as the Soyuz slipped away from its berthing port, according to a translator.

Three crew members were left aboard the station: NASA's Barry "Butch" Wilmore, the station's new commander; and Russian cosmonauts Elena Serova and Alexander Samokutyaev. Those three arrived at the station six weeks ago.

Three more spacefliers Russia's Anton Shkaplerov, NASA's Terry Virts and Italys Samantha Cristoforetti are scheduled to be launched to the station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Nov. 23.

First published November 9 2014, 9:42 PM

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Space Station Trio Returns to Earth With Mixed Emotions

Last Updated Nov 10, 2014 8:32 AM EST

A veteran cosmonaut, a German volcanologist and a Navy test pilot-turned-astronaut whose mastery of social media earned him -- and NASA -- a global following, undocked from the International Space Station and returned to Earth on Sunday, descending through low clouds to a jarring parachute-and-rocket-assisted touchdown on the frigid steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a 165-day stay in orbit.

Despite freezing weather that hampered recovery crews earlier in the day, the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft, carrying commander Maxim Suraev, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA flight engineer Reid Wiseman, landed on target near Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, at 10:58 p.m. EST (GMT-5; 9:38 a.m. Monday local time), three-and-a-half hours after the trio undocked from the orbiting lab complex.

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman smiles and chats with support crews while a nurse checks his vital signs after touchdown aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. All three returning station crew members appeared healthy and in good spirits.

NASA TV

Touchdown marked the end of a 5.3-month mission spanning 2,640 orbits covering more than 70 million miles since launch May 28 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southwest Kazakhstan.

The Soyuz descent module tipped over on its side after touchdown. It took recovery crews about half an hour to get Suraev, Wiseman and Gerst out of the charred entry craft, carrying them to recliners set up nearby and covering them in thick blankets to ward off the cold. All three appeared relaxed and in good shape as the smiled and chatted with flight surgeons, technicians and assorted space agency officials.

"Here we have (Russia), Germany and the U.S., we've worked together for half a year," Suraev said. "Everything was fine, everything was in the spirit of cooperation. So I think everybody needs to learn and follow the example of ISS crew members -- don't get insulted, don't try to prove anything to each other, let's try to live together, side by side."

After brief satellite phone calls to friends and family, the station fliers were carried to an inflatable tent for routine medical checks. After that, the crew faced a two-hour flight to nearby Kustanai for a traditional Kazakh welcome-home ceremony.

Originally posted here:
Three space station fliers back on Earth after 165 days aloft

An American, a Russian and a German returned from the International Space Station late Sunday night (Nov. 9), landing in Kazakhstan after spending 165 days in orbit.

"What a ride it has been," NASA astronaut Reid Weisman wrote on Twitter just before he, Roscosmos cosmonaut Maxim Suraev and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst closed the hatch separating theirRussian Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraftfrom their home of 5 1/2 months, the space station, at 4:27 p.m. EST (2127 GMT) Sunday.

Three hours later, at 7:31 p.m. EST (0031 GMT), the three Expedition 40/41 crewmates undocked the Soyuz from the orbiting laboratory's Rassvet mini-research module, setting off on their return to Earth. Monitoring their departure from onboard the station were Expedition 42 commander Butch Wilmore and cosmonauts Alexander Samokutyayev and Elena Serova, whoarrived at the outpost in September. [Space Station Photos: Expedition 40/41 in Pictures]

The Soyuz crew performed a 4-minute, 41-second engine burn at 10:05 p.m. EST (0305 GMT on Nov. 10), slowing the craft and causing it to fall out of orbit.

After re-entering the atmosphere and descending under a parachute, Wiseman, Suraev and Gerst touched down on the frigid steppe of Kazakhstan at 10:58 p.m. EST (0358 GMT; 9:58 a.m. Kazakh local time on Nov. 10), northeast of the remote town of Arkalyk.

The capsule landed upright, but wind caught its parachute and pulled the spacecraft onto its side.

Poor weather conditions threatened to delay Russian search and recovery forces' arrival at the landing site, but the team's helicopters were able to touch down near the Soyuz and assist Wiseman, Suraev and Gerst with exiting the space capsule.

The three spaceflyers were provided brief medical checks before being flown to the Kazakh town of Kustanai for a traditional welcome ceremony. From there, Wiseman and Gerst were to be flown by a NASA jet to Scotland, where the two will part ways: Gerst will depart for the European Space Agency while Wiseman flies to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Suraev will be flown directly from Kustanai to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, located outside of Moscow.

The three launched together to the space stationonboard Soyuz TMA-13Mfrom the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on May 28. The flight marked both Wiseman's and Gerst's first time in space. Suraev previously lived aboard the station for 169 days during Expeditions 21 and 22 from September 2009 through March 2010.

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Soyuz spacecraft returns astronauts to Earth

Update: The Soyuz space capsule carrying three International Space Station astronauts landed in Kazakstan at 10:58 p.m. EST, according to SpaceFlight Now.

---- Sunday night three International Space Station (ISS) astronauts began their journey home to earth aboard a Soyuz-13M space capsule.

NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev have spent almost six months living on the ISS conducting experiments, according to Ria Novosti.

The Soyuz successfully undocked from the ISS at 7:36 p.m. EST and is scheduled to land in Kazakhstan at 10:58 p.m. EST. The trip will take about three hours, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).

Heres a description from the ESA of what the astronauts will experience on their journey back to earth:

Their bumpy ride begins as they hit the atmosphere and they jettison parts of their spacecraft. Parachutes will deploy and retrorockets will fire an instant before touchdown to slow them down for a dramatic but safe landing.

Watch the arrival of Soyuz to the ISS on NASA TV or on Spaceflight Now.

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ISS astronauts return to earth on Soyuz spacecraft