DZHEZKAZGAN: The first crew to blast off to the International Space Station following a launch accident that deepened doubts over Russia’s space program returned to earth safely on Tuesday.

NASA astronaut Anne McClain, veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, and Canadian Space Agency record-holder David Saint-Jacques emerged from the spacecraft to applause from support crews, after touching down near the Kazakh city of Dzhezkazgan.