spacetoday.net: Soyuz lands in Kazakhstan

Posted: Wed, May 14, 2014, 7:12 AM ET (1112 GMT)
Soyuz TMA-11M landing (NASA)

A Soyuz spacecraft carrying three International Space Station crewmembers touched down on the steppes of Kazakhstan Thursday morning. The Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft landed at 9:58 pm EDT Wednesday (0158 GMT, 7:58 am local time Thursday) southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, after a normal reentry. The Soyuz had undocked from the ISS several hours earlier. The Soyuz returned to Earth Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, who has served as the station's Expedition 39 commander; Amemrican astronaut Rick Mastracchio; and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, after 188 days in space. Three people remain on the station, while a new America, European, and Russian crew are scheduled for launch on May 28.