By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: A Soyuz TMA-06M manned spacecraft touched down in Kazakhstan, ending a three-and-a-half hour voyage to bring three crew members from the International Space Station (ISS) to Earth after 142 days in orbit.
The Soyuz spacecraft, carrying Expedition 34 members – Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky, Yevgeny Tarelkin, and NASA astronaut Kevin Ford – landed 50 km north of the town of Arkalyk, according to Russia’s air transport agency Rosaviatsia.
Three planes, 14 Mi-8 helicopters and seven rescue vehicles were involved in a quick search for the landing capsule.
Reports said the landing was safe and the crew was in good shape.
Bad weather conditions forced Russian space agency Roscosmos to postpone the Soyuz undocking and landing by one day.
Novitsky, Tarelkin and Ford arrived at the ISS in October 2012.
Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, and US astronaut Thomas Marshburn remain on board the orbital station. Hadfield took over command of the ISS from Ford.
Later this month, three members of Expedition 35 – Russian cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov, Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy – are expected to arrive at the ISS on board a Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft.