Russian shuttle to bring men home from International Space Station is successful

April 27, 2012

Two Russian cosmonauts and one American astronaut landed in Kazakhstan on Friday, April 27. The trio was returned from the International Space Station, currently orbiting around Earth, and according to Reuters, the Soyuz TMA-22 managed to touch down in the intended landing zone.

"The spacecraft landed almost exactly where it was forecast to," NASA spokesman Rob Navias told reporters at the landing site, according to The Associated Press.

The three space travelers, Anton Shkaplerov, Anatoly Ivanishin and Daniel Burbank, all emerged from the capsule wearing big smiles, the AP indicates. The entire journey from the space station 60 miles above the planet took about three and a half hours, and everything went smoothly.

This is the first success in a while for the Russian space program, as five unmanned probes each met with disaster in attempts to explore Mars and its moons. The shuttle was actually delayed because of these inadvertent disasters, but all of the spacemen made it home safely.

Those who want to find out more about the return of the astronauts can make calls to Russia with phone cards and talk to their friends.

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