Soyuz space capsule lands safely

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Safe landing for Soyuz capsule

A Soyuz space capsule carrying two Russian crew and an American space tourist has returned to Earth.

It landed safely in Kazakhstan at 0336GMT, and the crew reported that they were "feeling well".

On board were Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko, as well as American Richard Garriott.

Mr Garriott, who paid about $30m (£17m) for the 10-day trip, is following in the footsteps of his father, who was a Nasa astronaut in the 1970s.

The flight took a new crew to the International Space Station (ISS).

Shortly after Soyuz touched down, the crew were extracted from the capsule.

In the family

Garriott had a life-long ambition to go into space

Richard Garriott is a 47-year-old computer games designer, and a board member and investor in Space Adventures, the firm that has brokered the ISS flights of previous millionaire tourists.

In 1973, his father, Owen Garriott, spent 60 days on the Skylab station, the United States' first orbiting space station.

Russian crew member Sergei Volkov also has a family space pedigree. His cosmonaut father, Alexander, flew long-duration spaceflights to the Russian Salyut 7 and Mir orbiting stations.

The next shuttle mission to the space station launches in November.