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. <\/p>\n
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). <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
\"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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
First published November 9 2014, 9:42 PM <\/p>\n
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Space Station Trio Returns to Earth With Mixed Emotions<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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. Continue reading