Soyuz Lands Safely In Kazakhstan With International Space Station Crew

[AeroSpace News]

NASA reports that three International Space Station crew members safely returned to earth Friday, 16 September 2011, wrapping up a six-month mission of research and exploration aboard the ISS.

NASA's Ron Garan, Expedition 28 commander Andrey Borisenko and flight engineer Alexander Samokutyaev, both of the Russian Federal Space Agency, landed their Soyuz spacecraft in Kazakhstan at midnight EDT (10 a.m. in Kazakhstan). The trio, which arrived at the station on 6 April 2011, had been scheduled to land on 8 September 2011, but that was postponed because of the 24 August 2011 loss of the Progress 44 cargo spaceship.

Before leaving the station, Borisenko handed over command to NASA's Mike Fossum, who leads Expedition 29. He and Flight Engineers Satoshi Furukawa of Japan and Sergei Volkov of Russia are conducting research and maintenance aboard the station. The launch date for the remaining Expedition 29 crew members, NASA's Dan Burbank, and Russia's Anatoly Ivanishin and Anton Shkaplerov, is under review.

Source: NASA

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