Space Station crew savour sweet smell of Earth

ARKALYK - A Soyuz capsule made a soft landing in the pitch-dark on Kazakhstan's steppes yesterday and its US-Russian crew said they were happy to breathe in the smell of Earth after a long stint in orbit.

US astronaut Michael Fincke and Russian Gennady Padalka manned the 16-nation International Space Station (ISS) for almost 188 days, while Russian Yuri Shargin spent just 10 days there.

The returning crew landed at 0035 GMT (12.35pm NZT), precisely on time and on target, 88km north of the Kazakh town of Arkalyk.

"We were very happy to be home," a smiling and relaxed Fincke told a news briefing. "When they opened the hatch, there was such a beautiful smell that we knew we'd come home."

Once out of the capsule, Fincke called his family via satellite phone.

From a chair next to the charred black Soyuz TMA-4 capsule, Fincke said he had been exhilarated by its re-entry into the atmosphere. "It was like fireworks."

Despite their landing in the dark, which complicated the search and rescue operation, and a chilly and rainy morning with squalls of wind, an upbeat Padalka said the crew had been touched by "the warmth of reception" on Earth.

The crew were treated to hot tea and then underwent medical checks in an inflatable field hospital.

Fincke looked amazingly fit for a person who had just spent six months in orbit where muscles atrophy in weightlessness. He alighted from a helicopter and tried to walk on his own when they were flown to the regional capital Kustanai.

Helicopters with medical staff and recovery teams hovered above the capsule while they waited for daylight to be able to land.

Scores of Russian space and military specialists and a fleet of planes and helicopters had taken up position for the pre-dawn landing, ready to take fast action if the capsule veered off its course and fell off target as happened in May last year.

"It's great to see the Expedition Nine team come home," said ISS programme manager Bill Gerstenmayer. "It's an amazing testimony to Russia's space programme and to the design of this capsule, which has been around so long."

Russian spacecraft have become the sole means of sending crews and cargo to the ISS since February 2003, when the US space shuttle fleet was grounded after the Columbia craft disintegrated over Texas, killing all seven people on board.

Officials say shuttle flights may resume next May or June.

- REUTERS