May 4 2003
From The Space Library
Returning from the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-1, American astronauts, Kenneth D. Bowersox and Donald R. Pettit, and Russian cosmonaut Nikolai M. Budarin, touched down in the steppes of Kazakhstan 276 miles (444 kilometers) off course. The landing was the first time American astronauts had returned to Earth in a foreign spacecraft. Budarin, Bowersox, and Pettit had arrived at the ISS in November 2002 aboard Endeavour, scheduled to return to Earth aboard another Shuttle flight on 11 March. However, the Columbia disaster in February had grounded the remaining three Shuttles in NASA's fleet, prolonging the crew's stay aboard the ISS. Russian search teams took 2 hours, using a helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, to find the crew. The last radio contact between the capsule and Mission Control Center in Moscow had occurred after the craft's parachutes opened, about 15 minutes before landing. Failure to reestablish contact had caused concern for the trio's welfare. Russian Space Agency spokesperson Sergei Gorbunov announced that a special commission would investigate the causes of the malfunctions during landing. (Mark Carreau, “Anxiety as Astronauts Miss Target for Landing,” Houston Chronicle, 5 May 2003; Sharon LaFraniere, “Space Station Crew Returns Home in Russian Soyuz,” Washington Post, 5 May 2003.
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