Chinese crew returns to Earth after space station test flight

China's Shenzhou 9 spacecraft parachuted to a jolting rocket-assisted landing in Inner Mongolia on Friday, safely returning three astronauts to Earth after nearly 13 days in orbit. Landing occurred at around 0202 GMT (10:02 p.m. EDT; 10:04 a.m. Beijing time) in Siziwang Banner, a county in northern China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Commander Jing Haipeng and crewmates Liu Wang and Liu Yang, China's first female space flier, were helped from the capsule about one hour later. The astronauts were placed in chairs and carried nearby for a photo opportunity. More

(Source: Spaceflight Now - Jun 29)