Space capsule lands safely

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.

Nasa astronaut Ron Garan and Russian cosmonauts Andrei Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyayev landed safely after 164 days in space.

Repeated calls to the Soyuz TMA-21 capsule from Mission Control in Korolyov, outside Moscow, went unanswered for several minutes, well after the craft had de-orbited.

Communication was eventually established between the crew and an Antonov fixed-winged aircraft circling the landing site. The landing was smooth in the area planned seconds before the expected arrival time.

Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, Nasa’s Michael Fossum, and Satoshi Furukawa of Japan’s JAXA space agency remain onboard the International Space Station and are due to return on November 22.