ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 3 (UPI) -- Two American astronauts joined their Russian crewmate in a Soyuz capsule on Saturday for transport from the space station back to Earth -- the first time the U.S. space program has tasked the Russians for a ride back from orbit.
Commander Ken Bowersox and science officer Don Pettit had trained to fly in the Soyuz, but only in an emergency.
The capsule the men flew home in had spent the last six months serving as the station's emergency escape system. A new crew flew to the outpost a week ago in another Soyuz that will remain berthed at the outpost.
Bowersox, Pettit and cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin landed at 10:07 p.m. ET in Kazakhstan. Four helicopters beelined to the landing site to help the men out. The capsule, however, landed about 30 kilometers away from its intended target and the rescue teams were still looking for the capsule more than 35 minutes after touchdown, according to NASA spokesman Kyle Herring in Moscow.
"We have a successful landing," a NASA flight controller told the new station crew.
"Very good, " replied astronaut Ed Lu. "That's great news."
Lu will spend the next six months in space with just one crewmate, commander Yuri Malenchenko. It is the first time the International Space Station is being left in the hands of just two people. NASA and its partners decided to cut one person from the crew in an effort to save water, food and other supplies until the shuttle fleet returns to service, as most of the station's gear is transported by the space shuttles.
Malenchenko formally took over command of the station in a ceremony Saturday morning.
"You guys have to be the two luckiest guys who come from the planet Earth today, " said Bowersox. "Over the next six months, you get to live aboard this beautiful ship. It's huge in size, it's tremendous in capability, it's an environment rich for discovery. I wish you well and I hope your expedition goes as wonderfully as ours has."
Bowersox and his crew had planned to fly home aboard shuttle Atlantis in March, but agreed to stay aboard the station an extra two months while NASA figured out how to keep the station staffed with its shuttle fleet grounded.
"I couldn't be prouder to be a member of the Expedition 6 crew, along with Nikolai and Don," said Bowersox. "Over the last 5 1/2 months we've experienced some really sad moments and some extremely happy moments, but most important is we have managed to stay together as a crew. Each one of us has put individual interests aside, put the interests of the crew first."
(Reported by Irene Brown, UPI Science News, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.)
