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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s first Angkasawan Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor completed his 11-day stint in space and returned safely to Earth on Sunday.

The Soyuz TMA-10 capsule which brought him back to Earth, together with commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov, landed in Kazakhstan at 6.37pm Malaysian time.

There were anxious moments though, when Nasa, which was broadcasting the event live, said the capsule had veered off course and landed some 340km from the target landing spot in Arkylk, Kazakhstan.

Muszaphar’s mother Datin Zuraida Sheikh Ahmad, who was watching, broke down in tears.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis and their wives at the control centre then offered a thanksgiving prayer.

Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) chief Anatoli Perminov then congratulated Najib.

A recovery team comprising six military Russian helicopters later located the capsule and brought out the cosmonauts at 6.52pm, beginning with Yurchikhin, followed by Dr Sheikh Muszaphar and finally Kotov.

They were brought to a tent set up next to the capsule and given immediate medical attention as part of the recovery procedure.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar’s health was reported to be in “very good” condition. He had earlier bid farewell to the crew at the International Space Station where he spent nine days conducting experiments.

He also hugged and shook the hands of Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchencko and new ISS commander Peggy Whitson, both of whom had flown with him on the Soyuz TMA-11 on Oct 10.

The returning Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft undocked from the ISS at 3.14pm Malaysian time and began its quick descent to Earth.

At 5.47pm, the capsule commenced its de-orbit burn and engine rockets fired for just over four minutes to slow the craft down in preparation for its separation into three parts, one of which – called the descent module – contained the crew members. The other two parts were disposed of in space.

The craft entered the outer reaches of the earth’s atmosphere at 6.14pm. It then picked up speed as it began to be pulled by Earth’s gravity, travelling at speeds over 200m per second.

Once in the atmosphere, the external part of the capsule heated up to a temperature of as high as 9,000 degrees Kelvin (8,700°C).

There was also a 10-minute “communications blackout” when the capsule entered the atmosphere – a normal occurrence caused by a surge of overwhelming heat generated by the capsule, rendering any form of communication impossible.

There was also suspense when it took a few moments for the Mission Control Centre (MCC) in Moscow to re-establish contact with the capsule and to confirm that the crew inside were safe.

When confirmation came, there was applause from the Malaysians at the control centre.

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