Soyuz spacecraft makes flawless landing with U.S., Russian, Dutch space travelers from ISS

<br>ARKALYK, Kazakhstan (AP) _ A Russian-U.S.-Dutch crew returned to Earth from the international space station on Friday in ``an almost bull's-eye landing'' in the steppes of Kazakhstan. <br><br>NASA

Friday, April 30th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ARKALYK, Kazakhstan (AP) _ A Russian-U.S.-Dutch crew returned to Earth from the international space station on Friday in ``an almost bull's-eye landing'' in the steppes of Kazakhstan.

NASA hailed the successful mission as another sign of American-Russian cooperation more than a year after the U.S. shuttle program was grounded because of the Columbia disaster.

The Soyuz TMA-3 capsule carried American astronaut Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, who spent some six months on the ISS. European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers of the Netherlands was returning after a nine-day stint.

``We landed amazingly softly,'' Kaleri said. The three men sat in chairs outside the capsule, bundled in fleece-lined sleeping bags and sipping hot tea to stave off the early morning chill.

NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe monitored the landing with other U.S., Russian and European space officials at mission control outside Moscow. He said it was ``flawless.''

``It was a testimonial to the depth of the partnership of the International Space Station,'' he said.

Jean-Jacques Dordain, who heads the European Space Agency, congratulated the Russians ``for such a beautiful and safe landing of the crew.''

It was the third time an American astronaut had come back to Earth aboard a Russian craft since the U.S. shuttle fleet was grounded following the February 2003 Columbia disaster.

Foale, Kaleri and Kuipers entered the capsule on Thursday night, having formally handed control of the ISS to the new crew, Russian Gennady Padalka and American Michael Fincke, who had arrived nine days earlier. Strapped into their seats, they began their descent about 3 1/2 hours before landing near the town of Arkalyk at 4:11 a.m. Moscow time (8:11 p.m. EDT Thursday.)

Search and rescue helicopters glimpsed the space capsule as it neared the ground, and the space officials at mission control broke into applause. The bell-shaped descent module landed upright and the astronauts were carried out.

``It was heavier, or more violent, than I thought. I braced myself but nevertheless my head went forward _ but no wounds,'' Kuipers said. ``But it is a nice feeling if the parachute goes open and, yes, it was a beautiful ride. Everything works fine. It's great!''

Foale said the three were tired.

``We got up very early almost a day ago, just had a brief nap,'' Foale said as he sat outside the capsule, waiting to be carried to an orange medical tent for an initial checkup.

``It feels like after a good party,'' he told reporters later in Kostanai, a Kazakh town north of Arkalyk, where the Soyuz recovery operation had its headquarters.

The landing of the space station's previous American-Russian crew in October went without a hitch _ unlike the dramatic landing of the first American astronaut in a Russian Soyuz capsule in May 2003, when a computer error sent the crew on a wild descent 250 miles off course.

Friday's landing, too, was perfect.

``It was right on the money _ an almost bull's-eye landing,'' NASA spokesman Rob Navias said.

Local officials in Kostanai gave the astronauts a red-carpet welcome and presented them with traditional embroidered Kazakh robes and hats.

Still unsteady on their feet, each astronaut was escorted by the arm and sat down on a chair for a press conference before being flown to Star City, the cosmonaut training center near Moscow.

Kuipers was the second Dutchman to fly into space, and his return coincided with the Dutch national holiday Queen's Day.

The Dutch ambassador to Kazakhstan, Peter van Leeuwen, gave each astronaut ``a piece of the best Dutch product _ cheese.''

Kuipers had traveled to the station under a commercial agreement between the European and Russian space agencies.

Asked if he wanted to go back to the space station, Foale said: ``Not now.''

``I'm enjoying the nice smell of earth ... and you are the first people I'm seeing after six months away. It's nice to be here,'' he said in Russian.