25-09-10 Soyuz Capsule Lands Safely With Russian-U.S. Crew

A Soyuz space capsule landed safely in Kazakhstan Saturday (Sept. 25),returning two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut to Earth after the crew solved a technical glitch that thwarted their first homecoming attempt a day earlier.The Soyuz TMA-18 craft touched down on Kazakh steppes in Central Asia,with sunny skies and a light breeze welcoming the spaceflyers home at 1:23 a.m. EDT (0523 GMT) after 176 days living and working in space.There was no sign of the undocking glitch that marred their first departure effort the day before.Riding aboard the Soyuz were cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko,and NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson.The astronauts wore broad smiles after landing,eating fresh apples and cucumbers as a traditional welcome home treat.The Soyuz crew left three other crewmembers behind on the space station to finish up their own mission."We'll see you soon,safe journeys and soft landings," the station's commander,NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock,radioed the departing crew as the Soyuz pulled away."Break a leg!" cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin added in Russian in a traditional good luck message.The astronauts on the space station watched their former crewmates land via a video link,cheering when the Soyuz touched down.