A Soyuz spacecraft has fired its engine to begin a dive toward Earth and a planned 11:24 p.m. EDT landing in Kazakhstan for three former International Space Station residents. The engine fired for four-and-a-half minutes as the Russian spacecraft sailed over the South Pacific Ocean, slowing its speed by 258 mph -- enough to drop the ship from orbit.
Atmospheric re-entry was on track to start about 30 minutes later. The top and bottom segments of the spacecraft should split away, leaving the three occupants in a descent module lined with an ablative shield to protect it from searing heat.
Inside are American astronaut T.J. Creamer, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, members of the space station's 23rd expedition, which ended with their departure after a nearly six-month stay.
Three Expedition 24 crew members remain on the station.
Ten search-and-rescue helicopters have deployed to the central Kazakhstan landing site near the town of Arkalyk. Planes and all-terrain vehicles are also part of the recovery convoy.
The descent module should deploy a pilot and drogue parachute at 11:09 p.m. at an altitude of about seven miles.
You can watch the landing live here by clicking on the NASA TV box at right to launch a video player.
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