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Russian spacecraft with circus tycoon lands safely
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 11 - 10 - 2009


The Russian Soyuz capsule carrying Cirque du
Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and two other space travelers
landed safely in Kazakhstan on Sunday, ending the
entertainment tycoon's mirthful space odyssey, AP reported.
Laliberte, who wore a bulbous clown nose during his stay
aboard the International Space Station, was extracted from
the cramped Soyuz capsule Sunday morning following its
landing in the steppes of northern Kazakhstan.
After the landing, he was carried from the capsule wearing
the round red nose.
Laliberte returned with Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka
and NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, re-entering the Earth's
atmosphere several hours after their capsule left the
International Space Station.
Valery Lyndin, spokesman for Russian mission control, said
the capsule drifted by parachute to Earth at 10:32 a.m.
local time.
Russian television showed pictures of Padalka sitting
outside the spacecraft, scorched by the searing heat of
re-entry, eating an apple and drinking tea as ground crew
extracted the other space travelers from the capsule. All
of the world's apple trees are descended from those that
first grew in Kazakhstan.
Laliberte emerged later, wearing his red clown nose as he
reclined in a chair set up near the Soyuz capsule.
Returning astronauts must rest after Soyuz landings in
order to reacclimate to the Earth's gravity.
In another tradition, a Russian Orthodox priest was
present for the landing.
Later, the space travelers were taken to an orange medical
tent, Russian TV showed. Vitaly Davydov, deputy chief of
Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said all three of the
space travelers were in good health «and even better
spirits,» the Interfax news agency reported.
Finally, the three Soyuz crew members returned by air to
the cosmonaut training facility at Star City near Moscow.
There, they were greeted by a live band and given flowers
and food. Laliberte entertained the staff by putting his
clown nose on again.
While in space, Laliberte hosted an Oct. 9 global Web
broadcast to promote his One Drop Foundation's crusade to
preserve the world's water resources.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, U2 and Shakira were
among the entertainers and activists who participated in
the broadcast back on Earth, with participants appearing in
14 cities on five continents.
Laliberte paid US$35 million (¤23.7 million) for his
10-day visit to the orbiting laboratory, becoming Canada's
first space tourist.
The 50-year-old entrepreneur, born in Quebec, worked as an
accordionist, stilt-walker and fire-breather before
founding Cirque du Soleil in 1984, and is popularly known
as the first clown in space.
Both Padalka and Barratt spent six months aboard the space
station. A six-member crew remain aboard.


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