Soyuz crew returns to Earth after 188 days in orbit

BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: May 15, 2014

A trio of veteran space fliers returned to Earth on Tuesday, U.S. time, after a 188-day expedition aboard the International Space Station.

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and NASA flight engineer Rick Mastracchio departed the space station with undocking of their Soyuz TMA-11M spaceship at 6:36 p.m. EDT (2236 GMT).

The three-man crew descended through the atmosphere buckled in custom-molded couches inside the cramped Soyuz landing capsule, which deployed a large orange and white parachute and fired "soft landing" rockets to cushion its impact with the ground.

Touchdown in Kazakhstan occurred at 9:57 p.m. EDT Tuesday (0157 GMT Wednesday).

These photos show the capsule's final descent and the extraction of Wakata, Tyurin and Mastracchio by Russian ground forces.

Read our full story for details on the landing.

Photo credit: GCTC