Space station crew makes safe return in Russian capsule
Marcia Dunn
Associated Press
May. 4, 2003 12:00 AM

ASTANA, Kazakhstan - Two American astronauts along with a Russian cosmonaut returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Sunday in a cramped Russian capsule, the only way home after the Columbia space shuttle disaster.

The safe landing, about 250 miles off-target, in the isolated steppes of Kazakhstan in Central Asia, was a relief for a still-shaken NASA. The Feb. 1 Columbia accident grounded the entire shuttle fleet and forced the astronauts to stay in space two months longer than planned to await new travel plans.

The three-man crew was in good health, Russian mission control reported.

Rather than gliding to Florida in a shuttle, Kenneth Bowersox, Donald Pettit and Russian colleague Nikolai Budarin rode in a Soyuz TMA capsule, just over 2 yards by 2 yards in size. Russian mission control announced the capsule's landing about three hours after it undocked from the space station.

The craft landed just north of the Aral Sea, mission control said. The landing site was about 250 miles west of the target.

"We are all very happy. It just took a little longer than we anticipated," said Allard Beutel, a NASA official at mission control.

Bowersox and Pettit are the first NASA astronauts to land in a foreign spacecraft in a foreign land.

Mission control announced the landing at 6:19 a.m. today (7:19 p.m. Saturday Arizona time), about 3 1/2 hours after the capsule undocked from the space station.

Much about this landing had NASA jittery. It was the first return of astronauts from space since the Columbia disintegrated during re-entry, killing its seven astronauts. It was the first time U.S. astronauts have returned from space in a capsule since 1975. Moreover, this new Soyuz model had never gone through a descent before. The location was new, and it was onto hard ground, not in water as was the U.S. space program's practice in the pre-shuttle days.

Because of Columbia, "the eyes of the American public and Congress and everyone are going to be on this landing," said Dr. J.D. Polk, one of two NASA flight surgeons who headed to the landing site with two helicopter loads of medical supplies, along with U.S. Air Force medical personnel, just in case.

"We just don't have any acceptance for any risk right now," Polk said.

The Soyuz capsule separated from the station at 3:43 p.m. Arizona time Saturday, said officials at Russian mission control outside Moscow, where the ship could be seen on a big screen, backing slowly away from the station.

Because the Soyuz is so cramped, Bowersox, Pettit and Budarin brought back little, mainly just a few small personal items, film, water and other environmental samples, and a handful of science experiments.

All other belongings from 161 days in space were left behind to await home delivery by the next visiting shuttle, whenever that may be. That stash includes Pettit's didgeridoo, an Australian Aboriginal horn he played to entertain his 2 1/2-year-old twin sons via video conference.

Bowersox and Pettit spent 5 1/2 months aboard the space station with Budarin, two months longer than planned because after the Columbia accident extra time was needed to bring their replacements aboard another Soyuz, the TMA-2.

Astronaut Edward Lu and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko checked in last week for a six-month stay that promises to be a challenge, given the reduction in crew size to conserve supplies until shuttle flights resume.

Handing over command to Malenchenko before floating into the Soyuz for the flight home, Bowersox told the new crewmen, "You guys have to be the two luckiest guys who come from planet Earth today. Over the next six months you get to live aboard this beautiful ship."

Russian cosmonauts regularly descend in capsules, most recently on Nov. 10.

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