Russian Soyuz blasts off for ISS

October 11th, 2009 MOSCOW - The re-entry capsule of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft has landed safely in Kazakhstan's steppe Sunday, officials said. Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, NASA's (US space agency) Michael Barratt and space tourist Guy Laliberte onboard the capsule landed safely in northern Kazakh steppe.

October 11th, 2009 Russian spacecraft with circus tycoon lands safelyMOSCOW — The Russian Soyuz capsule carrying Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and two other space travelers landed safely in Kazakhstan Sunday, ending the entertainment tycoon's mirthful space odyssey. Laliberte, who wore a bulbous clown nose during his stay aboard the International Space Station, was extracted from the tiny Soyuz capsule Sunday morning following its landing in the steppes of northern Kazakhstan.

October 10th, 2009 Russian space official says Soyuz lands safelyMOSCOW — A Russian space official says the Soyuz capsule with circus tycoon Guy Laliberte, a Russian cosmonaut and U.S. astronauts, has landed in Kazakhstan.

October 2nd, 2009 KOROLYOV - Russia's Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) Friday, a report said. The spacecraft lifted off on board a Soyuz-FG rocket Wednesday from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan.

May 29th, 2009 Russia signs deal to ferry astronauts in 2012MOSCOW — The Russian space agency says it has signed a $306 million deal with NASA to ferry its astronauts to the international space station in 2012. Roscosmos said Friday the agreement covers four launches aboard the three-person Soyuz capsules to swap out crews in the orbiting laboratory.

May 29th, 2009 MOSCOW - The Russian space capsule Soyuz successfully docked with the orbiting International Space Station (ISS) Friday, bringing three more crew members to the ISS, Russian TV reported. The Soyuz had been launched from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan Wednesday.

May 28th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - At least two people were killed and 60 injured in two back-to-back blasts in busy areas of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan, media reports said. The blasts occurred in Qisa Khwani and Kabari Bazar of Peshawar, the capital of the militancy-infested North West Frontier Province, within minutes of each other, Geo TV reported.

May 14th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russian space agency Roscosmos and the US space agency NASA have agreed on a new price for ferrying US astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) after 2012, an official said. NASA will now pay $51 million for a single seat on Soyuz spacecraft.

April 8th, 2009 MOSCOW - Two astronauts from the US and Russia and a space tourist left the International Space Station (ISS) Wednesday morning on board a Soyuz space capsule to return to Earth. The flight centre near Moscow reported that Soyuz undocked from ISS Wednesday morning and is expected to land in the Kazakhstan steppe around 0716 GMT, the Interfax news agency said.

April 2nd, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia is planning to launch three more Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) this year, Russian space agency Roscosmos said Thursday. Russia sent a Soyuz TMA-14 vehicle to the ISS March 26 this year to transport the crew to the space station.

March 13th, 2009 LONDON - The threat of a possible collision with a piece of space junk made the three crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) to briefly evacuate the station and take shelter in a docked Soyuz spacecraft. According to a report in New Scientist, NASA said that the threat has now passed and the crew will return to the station, but the last-minute move highlights how difficult it is to determine the paths of space debris that follow certain kinds of orbits.

March 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) briefly evacuated Thursday after ground controllers determined that a piece of space junk was within range for a possible collision. The debris passed safely by the ISS at 1645 GMT, but the crew entered a Soyuz evacuation capsule and closed the hatches in case they were required to quickly undock from the station, NASA said.

March 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Astronauts returned to the International Space Station (ISS) after briefly taking refuge in Soyuz capsule due to a collision threat from the flying debris Thursday, the US space agency NASA said. 'The debris threat to the International Space Station has passed,' NASA said in a statement.

March 1st, 2009 MOSCOW - A Russian Meridian 2 military satellite was put into orbit Friday by a Soyuz-2 carrier rocket launched from Plesetsk space centre in north of the country, an aide to the Russian Space Forces commander said. The Meridian-series communication satellites are designed to replace the older Molniya-series spacecraft and in addition to their military uses provide communication, navigation and surveillance services for civilian customers.

December 22nd, 2008 WASHINGTON - Two crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) began a space walk late Monday to collect science experiments attached to the outside of their orbiting home. US Commander Mike Fincke and Russian flight engineer Yury Lonchakov used the Pirs airlock to leave the space station and begin a six-hour retrieval mission.