BY JUSTIN RAY

Follow the return to Earth of Expedition 13 from the International Space Station. Reload this page for updates.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
0155 GMT (9:55 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying outgoing space station commander Pavel Vinogradov, NASA flight engineer Jeff Williams and space tourist Anousheh Ansari undocked from the international lab complex and returned to Earth on Thursday, landing near Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, around 9:14 p.m. EDT.

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0136 GMT (9:36 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

All three crew members have been removed from the capsule. They are seated in special reclining chairs near the craft for initial medical tests and to provide an opportunity to begin readapting to Earth's gravity.

A medical tent will be set up nearby the capsule in which the crew can change out of the launch and entry suits and prepare for the chopper flight away from the landing zone.

0124 GMT (9:24 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

The recovery team aboard a convoy of Russian helicopters and ground vehicles has arrived at the Soyuz to begin assisting the crew out of the capsule.

0114 GMT (9:14 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

LANDING CONFIRMED! The Russian Soyuz TMA-8 capsule has landed in north-central Kazakhstan, capping the six-month voyage of Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeff Williams aboard the International Space Station and the 10-day adventure of tourist Anousheh Ansari.

0112 GMT (9:12 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

At an altitude of about 12 meters, cockpit displays will tell cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov to prepare for the soft landing engine firing. Just one meter above the surface, and just seconds before touchdown, the six solid propellant engines are fired in a final braking maneuver, enabling the Soyuz to land to complete its mission, settling down at a velocity of about 1.5 meters per second.

0110 GMT (9:10 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

The recovery forces flying in a fleet of choppers around the landing zone report having a good view of the descending spacecraft.

0108 GMT (9:08 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

Just over five minutes to touchdown.

0103 GMT (9:03 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

Soyuz can be seen descending on its parachute.

0103 GMT (9:03 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

At an altitude of five kilometers, the module's heat shield is scheduled to be jettisoned. This is followed by the termination of the aerodynamic spin cycle and the dumping of any residual propellant from the Soyuz. Computers also will arm the module's seat shock absorbers in preparation for landing.

With the jettisoning of the capsule's heat shield, the Soyuz altimeter is exposed to the surface of the Earth. Using a reflector system, signals are bounced to the ground from the Soyuz and reflected back, providing the capsule's computers updated information on altitude and rate of descent.

0100 GMT (9:00 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

Once the drogue chute is jettisoned, the main parachute is deployed. It is connected to the Descent Module by two harnesses, covers an area of about 1,000 square meters and slows descent to 7.2 meters/second.

Initially, the Descent Module will hang underneath the main parachute at a 30-degree angle with respect to the horizon for aerodynamic stability, but the bottommost harness will be severed a few minutes before landing, allowing the Descent Module to hang vertically through touchdown.

0059 GMT (8:59 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

Onboard computers should be starting a commanded sequence for deployment of the capsule's parachutes at an altitude of about 10 kilometers. Two "pilot" parachutes are unfurled first, extracting a 24-square-meter drogue parachute. Within 16 seconds, the craft's fall will slow from 230 meters per second to about 80 m/s.

The parachute deployment creates a gentle spin for the Soyuz as it dangles underneath the drogue chute, assisting in the capsule's stability in the final minutes before touchdown.

0057 GMT (8:57 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

The crew should be feeling the period of maximum G-loads -- four or five times normal Earth gravity -- during entry.

0054 GMT (8:54 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

Twenty minutes to landing. The Soyuz continues its fiery plunge into the atmosphere. The craft appears as a bright shooting star in the predawn skies over the landing site.

0050 GMT (8:50 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

Entry Interface. The Soyuz is now hitting the upper fringes of the atmosphere at an altitude of 400,000 feet. The Expedition 13 crew will soon begin to feel the first tugs of Earth's gravity after six months in space.

The entry guidance by the spacecraft's onboard software package is scheduled to start in a couple of minutes.

0047 GMT (8:47 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

Separation of the Soyuz modules has occurred. The three segments of the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft have jettisoned apart, allowing the crew-carrying Descent Module to safely ferry the three crew members back to Earth. The no-longer-needed Orbital Module and Instrumentation/Propulsion Module are designed to burn up in the atmosphere.

0044 GMT (8:44 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

Time to touchdown is 30 minutes. The crew members report they are closing their helmet visors.

Just above the first traces of the Earth's atmosphere, computers will command the separation of the three modules of the Soyuz vehicle. With the crew strapped in to the Descent Module, the forward Orbital Module containing the docking mechanism and rendezvous antennas and the rear Instrumentation/Propulsion Module, which houses the engines and avionics, will pyrotechnically separate and burn up in the atmosphere.

The Descent Module's computers will orient the capsule with its ablative heat shield pointing forward to repel the buildup of heat as it plunges into the atmosphere. The crew will feel the first effects of gravity in six months at the point called Entry Interface, when the module is about 400,000 feet above the Earth, about three minutes after module separation.

0029 GMT (8:29 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

BURN COMPLETE! The Soyuz capsule has performed its braking maneuver, committing the craft for the return to Earth. Touchdown in north-central Kazakhstan is expected about 45 minutes from now.

0024 GMT (8:24 p.m. EDT Thurs.)

BURN IGNITION! The Russian Soyuz spacecraft has commenced the four-minute deorbit burn. Thrusters on the capsule's aft-end are firing to brake from orbit for the plunge back to Earth.

The capsule is flying backward over the southern Atlantic Ocean, just east of South America, on a northeasterly trajectory bound for Africa and eventually Central Asia where landing is expected at 9:14 p.m. EDT in central Kazakhstan.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2006
2156 GMT (5:56 p.m. EDT)

The 15-second separation burn by two of Soyuz's thrusters has been completed. The spacecraft is quickly moving away from the space station, setting the stage for the deorbit burn later tonight.

2153 GMT (5:53 p.m. EDT)

UNDOCKING! The Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft just undocked from the International Space Station's Zarya module while flying over eastern Asia.

The Expedition 13 crew is now homeward bound. Landing in Kazakhstan is expected at 9:14 p.m. EDT (0114 GMT) today.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2006

The Expedition 13 crew will bid farewell to the International Space Station's new residents and depart the complex for return to Earth today, riding a Russian Soyuz capsule to landing in Kazakhstan.

Commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeff Williams, along with visiting tourist Anousheh Ansari, will say their goodbyes to the station's new crew -- Expedition 14 commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Thomas Reiter -- and then float into the Soyuz TMA-8 craft currently docked to the station's Zarya control module downward-facing port.

The homeward-bound crew will work together for a next couple of hours to power up the Soyuz, active the craft's systems, remove docking clamps, depressurize the vestibule between the capsule and station and perform other work to ready for undocking.

Lopez-Alegria, Tyurin and Ansari launched to the station last week on Soyuz TMA-9. After the brief stay, Ansari is going home tonight while Expedition 14 is left behind for a half-year tour-of-duty on the outpost.

The command to begin opening hooks and latches firmly holding Soyuz to its Earth-facing docking port will be sent at 5:50 p.m. EDT (2150 GMT). Physical separation between the two craft occurs three minutes later as the capsule backs away during an orbital sunrise.

After moving a short distance from the station, the Soyuz engines will fire for 15 seconds to execute the so-called separation burn to propel the craft out of the orbiting lab's neighborhood.

About two-and-a-half hours later, the capsule's engines will ignite for the deorbit burn to brake from space. The onboard computers will initiate an engine firing at 8:23:51 p.m. EDT (0023:51 GMT) that slows the ship just enough to slip out of orbit for the return to Earth. The burn will last four minutes and 20 seconds.

Shortly before reaching the top of the atmosphere, the Soyuz's three distinct modules will separate at 8:47:28 p.m. EDT (0047:28 GMT) under computer command. The crew will be located in the Descent Module, which is sandwiched between the forward Orbital Module containing the docking mechanism and the rear Instrumentation and Propulsion Module housing the engines and avionics.

The Descent Module orients itself to point the ablative heat shield in the direction of travel to protect the craft and crew from the intense plunge back to Earth. At 8:50:22 p.m. EDT (0050:22 GMT), the moment of Entry Interface occurs as the capsule hits the upper fringes of the atmosphere for the fiery re-entry.

During the fall to Earth, the Orbital Module and Instrumentation and Propulsion Module will burn up in the atmosphere.

Six minutes after Entry Interface, the crew will experience the period of maximum G-loads during entry as they feel the tug of Earth's gravity for the first time since launch.

At 8:58:51 p.m. EDT (0058:51 GMT), the onboard computers will start a commanded sequence for deployment of the capsule's parachutes at an altitude of about 10 kilometers. Two "pilot" parachutes are unfurled first, extracting a 24-square-meter drogue parachute. Within 16 seconds, the craft's fall will slow from 230 meters per second to about 80 m/s.

The parachute deployment creates a gentle spin for the Soyuz as it dangles underneath the drogue chute, assisting in the capsule's stability in the final minutes before touchdown.

The drogue chute will be jettisoned, allowing the main parachute to be deployed. It is connected to the Descent Module by two harnesses, covers an area of about 1,000 square meters and slows descent to 7.2 meters/second.

Initially, the Descent Module will hang underneath the main parachute at a 30-degree angle with respect to the horizon for aerodynamic stability, but the bottommost harness will be severed a few minutes before landing, allowing the Descent Module to hang vertically through touchdown.

At an altitude of just over 5 kilometers, the heat shield will be cast free. That is followed by dumping of any residual propellant from the Soyuz.

Once the heat shield is gone, the Soyuz altimeter is exposed to the surface of the Earth. Using a reflector system, signals are bounced to the ground from the Soyuz and reflected back, providing the capsule's computers updated information on altitude and rate of descent.

At an altitude of about 12 meters, cockpit displays will tell the crew to prepare for the soft landing engine firing. Just one meter above the surface, and just seconds before touchdown, the six solid propellant engines are fired in a final braking maneuver, enabling the Soyuz to land to complete its mission, settling down at a velocity of about 1.5 meters per second.

Touchdown is expected at 9:13:51 p.m. EDT (0113:51 GMT) on the steppes of north-central Kazakhstan, about 14 minutes before sunrise at the landing site. Expedition 13 concludes with a duration of 182 days, 22 hours, 43 minutes and 31 seconds.

A group of Russian military helicopters carrying the recovery forces, including a U.S. flight surgeon and astronaut support personnel, should arrive soon after landing to help the crew exit the capsule.

Each crew member will be placed in special reclining chairs near the capsule for initial medical tests and begin readapting to Earth's gravity. They will be transferred into a portable medical tent erected near the touchdown point where the three crew members can remove their spacesuits.

Post-landing plans call for the crew to be flown from the site in helicopters within two hours of touchdown.