A NASA astronaut has finally landed on Earth after Russia threatened to abandon him in space.
Mark Vande Hei, 55, is returned from the International Space Station on March 29 and 30 onboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
Vande Hei and two Russian cosmonauts, Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, landed shortly after 07.28am ET (12.28am UK time).
The three cosmonauts had been stationed aboard the International Space Station (ISS), which orbits roughly 250 miles above Earth.
The event was live-streamed for free on Nasa’s website and official YouTube channel.
Read our ISS return mission live blog for the latest news and updates…
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Medical tent to be inflated
A medical tent is now being erect by the landing site, where the crew will be placed after being extracted from the pod.
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TV truck to be re-positioned
The TV truck is preparing to reposition itself closer to the Soyuz MS-19 pod.
Therefore, it’ll be able to bring us closer footage of the crew being extracted.
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A fleet of MI8 Russian helicopter are now surrounding the crew, ready for extraction.
We’ll bring you more on the blog as it comes.
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We have touchdown
Touchdown has been confirmed at 6.28 am central time.
It’s been a year since the crew have been back home, and we can safely confirm that they’re now back on Earth.
A ‘perfect’ landing has been confirmed by Mission Control in Moscow.
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A minute to go until touchdown
Visuals have provided us with lovely views of the pod, which is due to touch down to Earth any minute now.
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Russian MI8 helicopters to surround the pod
Soon, we should be able to see Russian MI8 helicopters surrounding the Soyuz MS-19 pod.
They will circle around it and aid with swift extraction of the crew.
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Minutes to go until touchdown
Four minutes until touchdown – it’s quite phenomenal descent.
The touchdown is occurring with bright skies as there’s just two hours until sunset in Kazakhstan.
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Crew in circular pattern
Crew down on earth have deployed a circular flying pattern around the landing zone once the Soyuz MS-19 lands on Earth.
Communication is now back up and running between the crew and the search and recovery forces.
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Parachute deployed
Signs that everything is okay as the parachute can now been seen deploying.
All has vented as planned and the rescue mission on Earth is waiting for the crew.
We are just seven minutes from landing now.
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Parachutes should have deployed
There’s just over 10 minutes until touchdown.
Mission control is still waiting for communication from the Soyuz MS-19 however.
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Standing by
We’re still waiting for communication between the spacecraft and the control centre for further information.
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Rescue primed
Rescue primed and ready to go in about 30 seconds.
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Crew experiencing 4.65G’s
The crew are now out of the plasma regime and according to the crew on board they are still feeling well.
The crew have also been asked to provide a running commentary as they land back down to Earth.
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17 minutes until touchdown
There are about 17 minutes to go until they touch down to Earth.
All the crew are ‘feeling well and ready’ to be back on home soil.
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Soyuz MS-19 entered plasma
The spacecraft is predicted to exit the plasma regime in about three minutes from now.
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Search helicopters airborne
Search and arrival helicopters are already in place in Kazakhstan.
They are ready for the arrival of the crew, with a plan in place to help them get out of the Soyuz MS-19.
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Minutes away from interface
The crew are only about two minutes away from entering Earth’s orbit.
This will be the first time they’ve felt gravity in over a year.
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Entry into Earth’s orbit soon
Here is the projection of the Soyuz MS-19’s entry into the Earth’s orbit.
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Timeline: What to expect
Deorbit burn and landing already took place around 06:15 this morning.
It should land back at earth around 7:28 a.m. ET, which is 5:28 p.m. Kazakhstan time.
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Communication may be lost with crew
On ground in Moscow, it has been confirmed that the crew on board the Soyuz may loose communication.
This is nothing to worry about, and apparently normal as they head back down to earth.
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Fifteen minutes to go
There are only fifteen minutes to go until separation of the rocket.
And, about 10 minutes from now, the Soyuz MS-19 will be 200km from the International Space Station.
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Crew feeling ‘great’
Despite the weightless feeling, the crew on board the Soyuz MS-19 have confirmed to the Moscow mission control centre that they feel ‘great’.
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Next milestone due
The next milestone is due in the next 20 minutes or so.
It will see the de-separation of the rocket as it heads back to Earth.
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Deorbit now complete
Soyuz MS-19 has now completed it’s deorbit burn.
Successful deorbit and all the astronauts are now heading safely back to Earth.
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Minutes to go on the deorbit burn
Around two minutes and thirty seconds of the deorbit burn now left
