Posted: Wed, Oct 31, 2001, 9:18 AM ET (1418 GMT)
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russians and one Frenchwoman undocked from the International Space Station Tuesday night and safely returned to Earth several hours later. The Soyuz TM-32 spacecraft undocked from ISS at 8:39 pm EST Tuesday (0139 GMT Wednesday) and landed 180 km southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan at 11:59 pm EST (0459 GMT). There were no problems reported with the undocking or landing. The spacecraft carried the three-person "taxi crew" that arrived at the station October 23 on Soyuz TM-33: Russians Victor Afanasyev and Konstantin Kozeev and French cosmonaut Claudie Haignere. The TM-33 spacecraft remains docked to the station to serve as a lifeboat in the event of an emergency on the station. The TM-32 spacecraft spent six months docked to the station and had reached its design life in orbit. The Expedition Three crew of Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Turin will remain on the station until relieved by the Expedition Four crew in December.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now station status center
•  SPACE.com article
•  AP article