Station crew lands in Kazakhstan

Three International Space Station crew members are back on the ground after what appeared to be a safe landing in a Soyuz capsule to end a 50-minute fall from space.

American T.J. Creamer, Russian Oleg Kotov and Soichi Noguchi of Japan touched down on grassy plains in central Kazakhstan at 11:25 p.m. EDT -- 9:25 a.m. Wednesday local time -- and the capsule rolled on its side

The Expedition 23 crew members executed a deorbit burn at 10:34 p.m. and began to feel the atmosphere for the first time in nearly six months just after 11 p.m., at an altitude of 62 miles.

Minutes earlier, pyrotechnic devices fired to split away the spacecraft's upper orbital module and lower propulsion module, which burned up in space.

Parachutes were expected to deploy 15 minutes before touchdown for the final seven miles of the descent module's fall, as search-and-rescue aircraft circled the landing area near the town of Arkalyk.

A fleet of Russian Mi8 helicopters confirmed spotting the spacecraft five minutes before touchdown.

Spacecraft thrusters fired in the final seconds to dull the speed of the landing's thud to roughly 22 mph.

Creamer, Kotov and Noguchi launched to the station Dec. 21, 2009, from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome. The trio spent 163 days in space, including 161 on the station.

That brings the total days spent in space to 360 for Kotov over two flights, 163 for Creamer, who made his first spaceflight, and 177 for Noguchi during two career flights.

After search-and-rescue teams opened the Soyuz hatch, the crew members were to be pulled out and carried to nearby tents for medical exams.