A Russian commander, his NASA co-pilot and the first Emirati to fly in space returned to Earth Thursday with a fiery re-entry inside the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft on the way to an on-target parachute-assisted landing in Kazakhstan at 6:59 a.m. EDT (1059 GMT), a few hours after undocking from the International Space Station.

Russia is delaying the return to Earth of three space station crew members by about a month in the wake of the failure of a Russian Progress supply ship that spun out of control moments after reaching orbit April 28. Launch of three fresh crew members also will be delayed, from May 26 to late July.

The term “direct flight” will go to new heights Friday with a four-hour flight by a Soyuz rocket and its Fregat upper stage to deliver five satellites to three distinct orbital destinations hundreds of miles above Earth.