Live coverage: Veteran three-man crew docks with space station

Last week’s successful launch of a Vega rocket with a European re-entry technology demonstrator marked the first of at least 11 flights planned this year by Arianespace to put communications satellites, Earth observatories and research probes into space.

Remarkable video shot near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, shows the Soyuz capsule descending under parachute for an on-target landing. The touchdown safely capped the three-man Expedition 50 crew’s 173-day mission to the International Space Station.

Concern about a possible ammonia coolant leak Wednesday prompted astronauts on the International Space Station to evacuate the U.S. segment of the complex and shelter in the Russian portion of the outpost while flight controllers scrambled to untangle initially confusing telemetry.