A Russian Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft has successfully landed in the vicinity of Zhezqazghan, Kazakhstan carrying two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut from the International Space Station (ISS). Belarusian crew member Marina Vasilevskaya made history by becoming the first cosmonaut the country has sent into space since it became independent in 1991.
Also on board were Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky and US astronaut Loral O’Hara. It was the American’s first trip to the ISS.
The spacecraft undocked from the station at 6:54AM Moscow time, descending from orbit after several hours. During its descent, the Soyuz MS-24’s compartments are designed to separate, with one of them carrying the crew.
Vasilevskaya, who formerly worked as a flight attendant for Belarus’ Belavia airline, spent 12 days on board the ISS, during which time she conducted a number of scientific experiments.
The first Belarusian cosmonaut since independence was selected out of more than 3,000 candidates after multiple rigorous tests. Vasilevskaya underwent training at a special center in Russia’s Zvyozdny Gorodok (Star City) beginning last summer.
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Her maiden flight had originally been scheduled for March 21. However, the launch of a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket was aborted by an automatic safety system about 20 seconds before liftoff.
The head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, Yuri Borisov, told reporters at the time that the cancellation had been caused by a voltage drop in the chemical power source.
The crew, including Vasilevskaya, successfully blasted off two days later.
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