Live in Orbit: Soyuz Plunges Toward Earth

A Soyuz spacecraft and three passengers have begun a one-hour plunge through Earth's atmosphere following a 4.5-minute engine burn to drop out of orbit.

Astronaut Mike Fincke, cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov and space tourist Charles Simonyi are scheduled to land in central Kazakhstan at 3:16 a.m. EDT.

The de-orbit burn proceeded on schedule at 2:24 a.m. EDT, and systems were reportedly performing normally.

The maneuver east of South America slowed the spacecraft's speed by 257 miles per hour.

Close to 3 a.m., as the crew is experiencing maximum g-forces, the spacecraft will jettison its orbital and propulsion modules, which will burn up in the atmosphere. Just after 3 a.m., parachutes will deploy to further slow the descent module.

Medical and engineering teams will be standing by in MI-8 helicopters to descend on the landing site and treat the crew and spacecraft.

NASA representatives there to greet Fincke and the others include Mike Suffredini, head of the space station program; Steve Lindsey, head of the astronaut office; NASA's lead flight surgeon; and astronaut Mike Foale, who now is one spot ahead of Fincke for the most time in space by a U.S. astronaut.

You can watch live NASA TV coverage of the landing here on The Flame Trench. Click the picture above to launch a viewer.

The Soyuz departed the International Space Station at 11:55 p.m. EDT Tuesday, as the last two Expedition 18 crew members bid farewell to three Expedition 19 .