ISS crew returns to Earth

The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft delivered two Russians and an American back to earth after their mission on the International Space Station (ISS). Touchdown occurred at 2:52 GMT, on a steppe in Kazakhstan some 85 kilometers from the town of Arkalyk.

The landing module was met at the recovery zone by three planes (An-12 and An-26), 12 Mi-8 helicopters, and six search and rescue vehicles.

Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergey Revin and US astronaut Joseph Acaba, who spent 124 days on the orbit, are reportedly in good health and have already been taken to the city of Kustanai. Acaba is headed back to America, and the Russian cosmonauts will fly to Chkalovsky, a military airfield near Moscow.

The Soyuz undocked from the ISS at 23:09 GMT September 16. At 2:25 GMT, the landing module separated from the rest of the ship and began its descent around 140 kilometers above Egypt. At a height of 10.7 kilometers, the Soyuz deployed its parachute and glided to earth for the last 15 minutes of the descent.

The ISS team currently consists of Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko and Japanese Aerospace Exploration flight engineer Akihiko Hoshide. A new expedition will dock with the ISS aboard a Soyuz TMA-06M on October 17.

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