RUSSIAN Soyuz capsule carrying three returning astronauts from the International Space Station touched down safely yesterday in the central steppes of Kazakhstan — but not without rattling nerves after a breakdown in communications.

An unmanned supply rocket bound for the International Space Station has failed to reach its planned orbit.

A US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts have blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome for a two-day journey to the International Space Station.