US astronaut ends spaceflight in Russian capsule
(30 Mar 2022) A NASA astronaut caught a Russian ride back to Earth on Wednesday after a U.S. record of 355 days at the International Space Station, returning with two cosmonauts to a world reeling from the war in Ukraine.
Mark Vande Hei landed in a Soyuz capsule in Kazakhstan alongside the Russian Space Agency's Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, who also spent the past year in space.
Despite escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Vladimir Putin's war with Ukraine, Vande Hei's return followed customary procedures.
A small NASA team of doctors and other staff was on hand for the touchdown and planned to return immediately to Houston with the 55-year-old astronaut.
Remaining on board were three Russians who arrived two weeks ago, and three Americans and a German who have been aboard since November.
Their replacements are due in three weeks via SpaceX.
Next week, SpaceX will fly three wealthy businessmen and their ex-astronaut escort to the International Space Station for a weeklong visit arranged by the private Axiom Space company.
Elon Musk's SpaceX began transporting NASA astronauts to the station in 2020, nine years after the shuttle program ended.
During that gap, Russia offered the lone taxi service, with NASA paying tens of millions of dollars for a Soyuz seat.
Vande Hei's ride was part of a barter exchange with Houston-based Axiom.
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