Soyuz MS-28 lands in Kazakhstan after eight-month ISS stint

A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut landed safely on the Kazakh steppe on Sunday, July 26, 2026, concluding an eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station. The crew, consisting of NASA astronaut Christopher Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, touched down southeast of the town of Zhezkazgan under parachutes at approximately 5:27 a.m. Central Daylight Time.

The trio undocked from the station's Rassvet module earlier that day aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft. Russian space officials stated the deorbiting and descent proceeded normally. Following the landing, the crew underwent initial medical checks and were to be transported by helicopter to Karaganda, Kazakhstan. From there, Williams will return to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, while the two cosmonauts will travel to their training base in Star City, Russia.

The mission began with a launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on November 27, 2025. The 241-day flight marked the first spaceflight for Williams and Mikaev and the second for Kud-Sverchkov. During their time in orbit, the spacecraft completed 3,856 orbits of...