Russia’s Soyuz Spacecraft Lands in Kazakhstan

The undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) took place as scheduled, in an automated regime, a spokesman for Russia’s Mission Control Center said earlier in the day.

The spacecraft carries Roscosmos cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy, who arrived at the ISS in March.

It started reentry maneuvers at 6:05 Moscow time (2:05 GMT) and the landing capsule touched the ground about 50 minutes later in the designated area.

The three crew members were evacuated safely from the capsule and are said to be in good health.

"The crew felt normal during the descent and landing, the cosmonauts and the astronaut are in good mood,” a mission control spokesman said.

Twelve Mi-8 helicopters and three planes, as well as six rescue vehicles and 14 auxiliary vehicles, were deployed to ensure the safe recovery of astronauts, the Russian aviation agency Rosaviatsia said.

After the departure, the ISS crew comprises Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, and astronauts Karen Nyberg of NASA and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency.

They will be joined by Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky and NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, who will blast off for the station in a Soyuz-TMA10M spacecraft at 00:58 Moscow time on September 26 (GMT 20:58, September 25).

RIA Novosti