3 astronauts return to Earth from space station

U.S. astronaut Kevin Ford (left), and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy (center) and Evgeny Tarelkin walk to a bus during a sending-off ceremony at the Baikonur cosmodrome, October 23, 2012, prior to blasting off for the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. / VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO/AFP/Getty Images

MOSCOW A Soyuz space capsule carrying an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts has landed on the steppes of Kazakhstan, returning the three men to Earth after a 144-day mission to the International Space Station.

A commentator on NASA TV says the search and recovery helicopters are approaching the landing site, but that only two of 12 aircraft have been allowed to land because of heavy clouds and fog. The temperature is just above freezing.

• Bad weather postpones return of 3 astronauts

NASA's Kevin Ford and Russians Oleg Novitsky and Yevgeny Tarelkin had been scheduled to return on Friday, but the landing was postponed by a day because of bad weather.

Their Russian-made capsule touched down Saturday at around 9:10 a.m. local time (0410gmt).

[Noval53]

How pathetic is the US Space Program today; landing in Kasackstan (don't care if it's misspelled)? The shuttle program was cancelled primarily because it was a "dead end", flying in circles, going no where program. The space shuttle was a boring bus route to a failing flying trailer park (the international space station). NASA has advanced so much with all their science & computer technology, that they forgot how to get to the moon or get anywhere out of orbit with a human. Now the great and powerful nasa, must rely on the Russians to get an astronaut anywhere; as in rent a space ship. The real space program ended with the Apollo Program in the 1970's following the last trip to the moon.

Take a look at the old movie 2001 and you'll see where our space program could be and should be. NASA is now lead by corrupt politicians and bean counters more interested in their retirement plans than a plan to go anywhere beyond earth.

[thegolfguy]

Amen brother.

[JustOne-View]

There is no Obama. What we see is just an image and an illusion manufactured to manipulate your emotions in order for he and his "friends" to gain and keep POWER. Look behind the curtain.

[DYLANESQ]

I watched the landing/recovery on NASA TV. What a bunch of amateurs OMG.Instead of the professional well orchestrated and calmly controlled US Shuttle landings this looked like a bunch of people stumbled on the capsule on their way somewhere. Talk about backward or what !!

[retiredgustav]

How long will it be before some one blames President Obama for ending the space shuttle program, when in fact George Bush canceled it in April of 2005!