Outgoing space station commander Jeffrey Williams and Soyuz commander Maxim Suraev settled to a jarring touchdown in "blizzard-like" conditions in Kazakhstan Thursday after an apparently trouble-free descent from the International Space Station.

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VIDEO: ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF THE SOYUZ UNDOCKING PLAY
VIDEO: SOYUZ TMA-16 UNDOCKS FROM POISK MODULE PLAY
VIDEO: CREW BOARDS SOYUZ AND CLOSES HATCHWAY PLAY
VIDEO: SPACE STATION CHANGE OF COMMAND CEREMONY PLAY
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With Williams and Suraev back on the planet safe and sound, the International Space Station continues to circle Earth with the new Expedition 23 crew of Russian commander Oleg Kotov, American astronaut T.J. Creamer and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

Another three-person crew -- Alexander Skvortsov, Tracy Caldwell-Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko -- will launch aboard a Soyuz from Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 2 and reach the space station April 4 to boost the outpost's resident team to the full size of six members.

The station partners have begun employing "indirect crew handovers" that see the returning members land a couple of weeks prior to their replacements launching.

Max Suraev was assisted out of the capsule's center seat. The Russian air force colonel is back on Earth from his first space voyage as an Expedition flight engineer.

And Jeff Williams was extracted from the Soyuz after his third trip to the space station. A veteran of three space missions, Williams has compiled 362 days in orbit from the 10-day STS-101 space shuttle flight in 2000, the 183-day Expedition 13 trek aboard the station in 2006 and now this 169-day journey.

Williams takes the fourth spot on the American astronaut endurance list behind Peggy Whitson (377 days), Mike Foale (374 days) and Mike Fincke (366 days).

Both crew members have egressed the Soyuz in deep snow. The helicopter teams landed and set up the landing site area, but the all-terrain ground vehicles were bogged down in the snow and haven't reached the spacecraft.

On the frigid steppes of remote central Asia, the recovery team is working to erect the inflatable medical tent where the Soyuz crew can remove their spacesuits and undergo preliminary exams.

The official landing time has been marked at 7:24 a.m. EDT.

The recovery team aboard a convoy of Russian helicopters is arriving at the Soyuz to begin assisting the crew out of the capsule. The Soyuz appears to have come to rest on its side, which is not uncommon given the windy conditions there today.

LANDING CONFIRMED! The Russian Soyuz TMA-16 capsule has landed in Kazakhstan, capping the 169-day voyage of Jeff Williams and Max Suraev to the International Space Station.

Standing by for confirmation of touchdown.

At an altitude of about 12 meters, cockpit displays will tell cosmonaut Max Suraev to prepare for the soft landing engine firing. Just one meter above the surface, and 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, settling down at a velocity of about 1.5 meters per second.

The crew has radioed the recovery forces that they feel well.

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.

At the landing site, skies are clear, the temperature is 21 degrees F, with a southwesterly wind of 15 mph and a wind chill of 0 degrees F.

The fixed-wing aircraft that serves as the central command for the search and recovery forces has established a communications link with the crew aboard Soyuz.

Recovery forces flying in the landing zone report a visual sighting of the incoming 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.

Pressure inside the cabin are steady and the G loads are beginning to ease after the harshest portion of re-entry, the crew reports to Russian flight controllers.

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. 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-16 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.

Now crossing Africa.

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

The craft is flying backward over the south-central Atlantic Ocean on a northeasterly trajectory bound for Africa and eventually Asia where landing is expected at 7:23 a.m. EDT in north-central Kazakhstan, or 5:23 p.m. local time.

BURN IGNITION! Thrusters on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft are firing to brake from orbit. This deorbit burn is expected to last four minutes and 16 seconds to put the capsule on a course for the trip back to Earth.

Clocks are counting down to ignition of the deorbit burn at 6:32:59 a.m. EDT, according to the latest refinement from Mission Control.

Command of the International Space Station now belongs to the new Expedition 23 commander Oleg Kotov from Russia, American astronaut T.J. Creamer and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

The 15-second separation burn by the Soyuz's thrusters has been completed to accelerate the spacecraft's departure from the outpost.

UNDOCKING. The Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft has separated from the space station after nearly 167 days there, setting the stage for today's return to Earth. The undocking occurred 220 miles over the Mongolian-Russian border.

The undocking command has been issued. Hooks and latches holding the station's Poisk 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.

Jeff Williams and Max Suraev have boarded their Soyuz spacecraft for today'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 12:45 a.m. EDT.

Undocking remains scheduled for 4:03 a.m. EDT. The deorbit burn time has been updated to 6:32 a.m., leading to touchdown on Earth at 7:23 a.m. EDT, based on the latest numbers from Mission Control.

The International Space Station's current American commander and his Russian cosmonaut crewmate will return to Earth on Thursday, capping a half-year in orbit by landing in a parachute-equipped Soyuz descent capsule.

Read our preview story here.

Expedition 22 skipper Jeff Williams and flight engineer Max Suraev will say their farewells to the station's other residents -- the new Expedition 23 commander Oleg Kotov of Russia, American astronaut T.J. Creamer and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi -- then floating into the Soyuz TMA-16 craft currently docked to the station's Poisk module and close the hatchway at 1:02 a.m. EDT.

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.

Williams and Suraev have been living on the station since October 2. Their departure begins the next rotation of crews and change of Expedition mission number.

Once Thursday's undocking happens, the station will be staffed by just Kotov, Creamer and Noguchi until another Russian Soyuz spacecraft launches on April 2 and docks two days later, boosting the crew back to the full size of six.

The overnight activities (U.S. time) begin when the command to begin opening hooks and latches firmly holding Soyuz to its docking port is sent at 4:00 a.m. EDT (0800 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 6:34:05 a.m. EDT (1034:05 GMT) that slows the ship just enough to slip out of orbit for the return to Earth. The burn will last four minutes and 18 seconds.

Shortly before reaching the top of the atmosphere, the Soyuz's three distinct modules will separate at 6:58 a.m. EDT (1058 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 7:01 a.m. EST (1101 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 7:09 a.m. EST (1109 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 7:24 a.m. EDT (1124 GMT) on the steppes of central Kazakhstan, a little more than two hours before sunset at the landing site. The target spot is 50.41 degrees North latitude and 67.21 degrees East longitude. The mission concludes with a duration of 169 days, 4 hours and 10 minutes.

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 during the undocking and landing.

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