Donate $25 for two DVDs of the Cryptome collection of files from 1996 to the present 30 November 2010. See Soyuz-TMA 19 descent module landing on 26 November 2010: http://cryptome.org/info/soyuz-tma19/soyuz-tma19.htm 2 November 2010. Add illustration of Soyuz spacecraft showing the descent module at center. 29 October 2010. Add note on retro rockets. 1 October 2010 A Soyuz descent module carrying Russians Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Korniyenko, and NASA's Tracy Caldwell Dyson came back to Earth September 25, 2010 from the International Space Station and landed safely in Kazakhstan, a day after an initial attempt to return was aborted after latches holding the Soyuz TMA-18 craft to the orbital station failed to open. NASA photos. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Soyuz TMA-18 Descent Module Landing Photos

29 October 2010.

A comment on Reddit claims the dust below is from retro rockets fired just before landing to soften impact, and not from the impact itself.

The four-quadrant dominant plumes appear to support that claim. JSC2010-E-04316 (19 March 2010) --- At the Kremlin Wall in Red Square in Moscow March 19, 2010, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko (left), Expedition 23 flight engineer; Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov (center), Soyuz commander, and NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Expedition 23 flight engineer, brave the elements after laying flowers in a traditional ceremony prior to their departure for the launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for final preparations for launch on the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft to the International Space Station April 2. Photo credit: NASA/Stephanie Stoll JSC2010-E-041864 (22 March 2010) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Expedition 23 flight engineer, participates in a fit check in the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft March 22, 2010, in which she, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, Soyuz commander and flight engineer; and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, flight engineer, will launch April 2 bound for the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov ISS024-E-015173 (23 Sept. 2010) --- Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, Expedition 24 commander, makes final preparations for his departure in the Soyuz TMA-18 docked to the Poisk Mini-Research Module 2 (MRM2) of the International Space Station. The Soyuz undocked at 10:02 p.m. (EDT) on Sept. 24, 2010, carrying Skvortsov, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson (both out of frame). Originally scheduled for Sept. 23, the Soyuz undocked a day later due to a Poisk-side hatch sensor problem, which prevented hooks on the Poisk side of the docking interface from opening. ISS025-E-005039 (24 Sept. 2010) --- The Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft departs the International Space Station on Sept. 24, 2010. Onboard are three members of Expedition 24 -- Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, commander; along with NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, both flight engineers.