spacetoday.net: Soyuz lands safely but off-course

Posted: Sun, May 4, 2003, 10:04 AM ET (1404 GMT)
A Soyuz capsule carrying the three-man Expedition Six space station crew landed safely late Saturday night in Kazakhstan, but touched down nearly 500 kilometers from its designated landing site. The Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft landed at 10:07 pm EDT Sunday (0207 GMT Sunday), about just under three and a half hours after undocking from the International Space Station. The spacecraft landed about 460 kilometers short of its planned landing site near Arkylyk, Kazakhstan, southwest of the capital city of Astana, creating a long period of concern and tension at mission control as helicopters searched for the capsule. The capsule was eventually spotted by helicopter crews about two and a half hours after landing; they reported the crew was standing outside the capsule and appeared to be in good shape. Search crews have since landed by the capsule and confirmed that the three crew members — Ken Bowersox, Don Pettit, and Nikolai Budarin — were in good health. Russian engineers said they believe the crew likely experienced higher deceleration forces — up to 9g instead of the normal 7g — but don't know yet if this was caused by a computer or other mechanical problem in the spacecraft or human error. The crew is scheduled to be flown to the Star City cosmonaut training center outside Moscow later today.