Soyuz Touched Down In Kazakhstan Sunday Morning

NASA tells ANN the Expedition 15 crew members have returned home.

After bidding farewell to the Expedition 16 crew Saturday night, the Expedition 15 crew -- Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov -- boarded their Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft for the return to Earth. They undocked from the station around 0314 EDT Sunday and landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 0636.

Joining Expedition 15 for the journey home was "tourinaut" Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, a Malaysian flying under an agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos). As ANN reported, he arrived at the station with the Expedition 16 crew, Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko, on October 12.

At a change of command ceremony Friday afternoon, the Expedition 15 crew formally handed over command of the station to Expedition 16.

Accepting command of the station from Yurchikhin, Whitson remarked, "It's been a very impressive mission, and you guys have performed exceptionally."

Flight Engineer Clay Anderson, who joined Expedition 15 in June, will remain onboard as a member of Expedition 16, until his replacement, astronaut Dan Tani, arrives on the STS-120 shuttle mission, Discovery is scheduled to blast off from Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday.

FMI: www.nasa.gov