Outgoing space station commander Frank De Winne, cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk strapped into a Russian Soyuz capsule, undocked from the lab complex and fell back to Earth Tuesday, braving icy weather in Kazakhstan to close out a 188-day stay in space.

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And now Frank De Winne, waving at the crowd and cameras, has been extracted from the Soyuz and moved into one of the all-terrain vehicles parked next to the capsule. No helicopters could fly to the landing site due to icing and weather conditions. Ground vehicles are in use today instead.

The official landing time has been marked at 2:15:34 a.m. EST.

Bob Thirsk has been brought out of the spacecraft.

Roman Romanenko has exited the capsule.

The recovery forces have reached to the Soyuz to assist the crew out of the spacecraft's hatch. The capsule came to rest upright.

LANDING CONFIRMED! The Russian Soyuz TMA-15 capsule has landed in Kazakhstan, capping the 188-day voyage of Expedition commander Frank De Winne and flight engineers Roman Romanenko and Bob Thirsk.

Standing by for confirmation of touchdown.

Now five minutes to touchdown as Soyuz descends to Kazakhstan under its main parachute.

At an altitude of five kilometers, the module's heat shield is scheduled to be jettisoned. This is followed by the termination of the aerodynamic spin cycle and the dumping of any residual propellant from the Soyuz. Computers also will arm the module's seat shock absorbers in preparation for landing.

With the jettisoning of the capsule's heat shield, the Soyuz altimeter is exposed to the surface of the Earth. Using a reflector system, signals are bounced to the ground from the Soyuz and reflected back, providing the capsule's computers updated information on altitude and rate of descent.

Recovery forces flying in the landing zone have made a communications link with the crew aboard Soyuz.

Once the drogue chute is jettisoned, the main parachute is deployed. It is connected to the Descent Module by two harnesses, covers an area of about 1,000 square meters and slows descent to 7.2 meters/second.

Initially, the Descent Module will hang underneath the main parachute at a 30-degree angle with respect to the horizon for aerodynamic stability, but the bottommost harness will be severed a few minutes before landing, allowing the Descent Module to hang vertically through touchdown.

Onboard computers should be starting a commanded sequence for deployment of the capsule's parachutes at an altitude of about 10 kilometers. Two "pilot" parachutes are unfurled first, extracting a 24-square-meter drogue parachute. Within 16 seconds, the craft's fall will slow from 230 meters per second to about 80 m/s.

The parachute deployment creates a gentle spin for the Soyuz as it dangles underneath the drogue chute, assisting in the capsule's stability in the final minutes before touchdown.

Tracking aircraft flying around the landing zone report having detected the beacon from the incoming Soyuz.

Twenty minutes to landing. The Soyuz is making its fiery plunge into the atmosphere now.

Entry Interface. The Soyuz is now hitting the upper fringes of the atmosphere at an altitude of 400,000 feet above Africa. The Expedition crew will soon begin to feel the first tugs of Earth's gravity after six months in space.

The entry guidance by the spacecraft's onboard software package is scheduled to start in a couple of minutes.

Mission Control says a successful module separation has occurred.

The three segments of the Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft have jettisoned apart, allowing the crew-carrying Descent Module to safely ferry the three crew members back to Earth. The no-longer-needed Orbital Module and Instrumentation/Propulsion Module are designed to burn up in the atmosphere.

Time to touchdown is now 30 minutes.

In about five minutes at an altitude of 87 miles, just above the first traces of the Earth's atmosphere, computers will command the separation of the three modules that comprise the Soyuz vehicle. With the crew strapped in to the Descent Module, the forward Orbital Module containing the docking mechanism and rendezvous antennas and the rear Instrumentation/Propulsion Module, which houses the engines and avionics, will pyrotechnically separate and burn up in the atmosphere.

The Descent Module's computers will orient the capsule with its ablative heat shield pointing forward to repel the buildup of heat as it plunges into the atmosphere. Entry interface at the upper fringes of the atmosphere, when the capsule is about 400,000 feet above the Earth, happens about three minutes after module separation.

BURN COMPLETE! The Soyuz has performed its braking maneuver, committing the craft for entry into the atmosphere. Touchdown is 45 minutes away.

The craft is flying backward over the southern Atlantic Ocean on a northeasterly trajectory bound for Africa and eventually Central Asia where landing is expected at 2:15 a.m. EST in central Kazakhstan.

BURN IGNITION! Thrusters on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft are firing to brake from orbit. This deorbit burn is expected to last four minutes and 19 seconds to put the capsule on a course for the trip back to Earth.

Command of the International Space Station now belongs to the new Expedition 22 crew of NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev.

The 15-second separation burn by the Soyuz's thrusters has been completed to accelerate the spacecraft's departure from the outpost. The deorbit burn is coming up at 1:26 a.m., with landing in Kazakhstan still expected at 2:15 a.m. EST.

UNDOCKING. The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft has separated from the space station after nearly 186 days there, setting the stage for tonight's return to Earth. The undocking occurred 220 miles over southern Russia.

The undocking command has been issued. Hooks and latches holding the station's Pirs docking module and Soyuz tightly together are being opened now.

Soyuz's docking mechanism has been powered up. The station's thrusters have been inhibited for the upcoming undocking event.

The space station has been maneuvered to the desired orientation for the upcoming departure of Soyuz.

De Winne, Romanenko and Thirsk have boarded their Soyuz spacecraft for tonight's journey from the International Space Station to the landing site in Kazakhstan. The crew confirmed the hatchway between the station and capsule was closed at 7:43 p.m. EST.

Undocking remains scheduled for 10:56 p.m. EST, leading to touchdown on Earth at 2:15 a.m. EST.

Three men who helped form the first six-person resident crew aboard the International Space Station will finish their mission and return to Earth tonight, capping a half-year in orbit by landing in a parachute-equipped Soyuz descent capsule.

Expedition 21 commander Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk will say their farewells to the station's other two crewmates -- new Expedition 22 commander Jeff Williams of NASA and cosmonauts Maxim Suraev -- during a 7:30 p.m. EST ceremony, then floating into the Soyuz TMA-15 craft currently docked to the station's Zarya module and close the hatchway at 7:50 p.m. EST.

The homeward-bound crew will work together for a next couple of hours to power up the Soyuz, active the craft's systems, remove docking clamps, depressurize the vestibule between the capsule and station and perform other work to ready for undocking.

De Winne, Romanenko and Thirsk have been living on the station since May 29 when they arrived to create a new double-sized international crew. But their landing will begin a period lasting until next spring when the rotation of crews will mean the station is occupied by smaller teams.

NASA's Nicole Stott left the station last week aboard Atlantis, becoming the final astronaut to use the space shuttle for rides to and from the outpost. Her departure left the station with five Expedition residents.

Once tonight's undocking happens, the station will be staffed by just Williams and Suraev until the next Russian Soyuz spacecraft launches on December 20 and docks two days later, boosting the crew size back to five. But it won't be until April when the subsequent Soyuz with a three-man crew arrives to replace Williams and Suraev that the station returns to its full team of six.

Tonight's activities begin when the command to begin opening hooks and latches firmly holding Soyuz to its docking port is sent at 10:53 p.m. EST (0353 GMT). Physical separation between the two craft occurs three minutes later.

After moving a short distance from the station, the Soyuz engines will fire for 15 seconds to execute the so-called separation burn to propel the craft out of the orbiting lab's vicinity.

About two-and-a-half hours later, the capsule's engines will ignite for the deorbit burn to brake from space. The onboard computers will initiate an engine firing at 1:26:02 a.m. EST (0626:02 GMT) that slows the ship just enough to slip out of orbit for the return to Earth. The burn will last four minutes and 19 seconds.

Shortly before reaching the top of the atmosphere, the Soyuz's three distinct modules will separate at 1:49:55 a.m. EST (0649:55 GMT) under computer command. The crew will be located in the Descent Module, which is sandwiched between the forward Orbital Module containing the docking mechanism and the rear Instrumentation and Propulsion Module housing the engines and avionics.

The Descent Module orients itself to point the ablative heat shield in the direction of travel to protect the craft and crew from the intense plunge back to Earth. At 1:52:50 a.m. EST (0652:50 GMT) and an altitude of 63 miles, the moment of Entry Interface occurs as the capsule hits the upper fringes of the atmosphere for the fiery re-entry.

During the fall to Earth, the Orbital Module and Instrumentation and Propulsion Module will burn up in the atmosphere.

About seven minutes after Entry Interface, the crew will experience the period of maximum G-loads during entry at an altitude of 20 miles, as they feel the tug of Earth's gravity for the first time since launch.

At 2:01:13 a.m. EST (0701:13 GMT), the onboard computers will start a commanded sequence for deployment of the capsule's parachutes at an altitude of about 6.6 miles. Two "pilot" parachutes are unfurled first, extracting a drogue parachute.

The parachute deployment creates a gentle spin for the Soyuz as it dangles underneath the drogue chute, assisting in the capsule's stability in the final minutes before touchdown.

The drogue chute will be jettisoned, allowing the main parachute to be deployed. It is connected to the Descent Module by two harnesses.

Initially, the Descent Module will hang underneath the main parachute at a 30-degree angle with respect to the horizon for aerodynamic stability, but the bottommost harness will be severed a few minutes before landing, allowing the Descent Module to hang vertically through touchdown.

At an altitude of just over three miles, the heat shield will be cast free. That is followed by dumping of any residual propellant from the Soyuz.

Once the heat shield is gone, the Soyuz altimeter is exposed to the surface of the Earth. Using a reflector system, signals are bounced to the ground from the Soyuz and reflected back, providing the capsule's computers updated information on altitude and rate of descent.

At an altitude of about 40 feet, cockpit displays will tell the crew to prepare for the soft landing engine firing. Just seconds before touchdown, the six solid propellant engines are fired in a final braking maneuver, enabling the Soyuz to land to complete its mission.

Touchdown is expected at 2:15:31 a.m. EST (0715:31 GMT) on the steppes of central Kazakhstan, about four hours before sunset at the landing site. The target spot is 50.59 degrees North latitude and 67.10 degrees East longitude. The mission concludes with a duration of 187 days, 20 hours, 40 minutes and 38 seconds.

A group of Russian helicopters carrying the recovery forces should arrive soon after landing to help the crew exit the capsule.

Each crew member will be placed in special reclining chairs near the capsule for initial medical tests and begin readapting to Earth's gravity. They will be transferred into a portable medical tent erected near the touchdown point where the three crew members can remove their spacesuits.

Post-landing plans call for the crew to be flown from the site in helicopters.

Watch this page for live updates and a video webcast during the undocking and landing.

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