U.S. Astronaut from International Space Station Returns to Earth Along with Two Cosmonauts

Published 07/26/26 at 10:25 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Portland, Oregon) – Three Earthlings are back on terra firma, including one American astronaut. Photo credit: NASA. Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.

The trio landed at 5:27 a.m. CDT, touching down southeast of Dzhezkazgan, following a parachute-assisted landing of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft.

NASA astronaut Chris Williams has returned from his 8-month-long mission, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev. The trio undocked from the station at 2:03 a.m.

“The crew was in space for 241 days, orbiting the Earth 3,856 times and traveling more than 102 million miles,” NASA said. “They launched to the International Space Station on Nov. 27, 2025. The mission was the first for Williams and Mikaev and the second for Kud-Sverchkov.”

Along the way, in mid June, the ISS made a stunning show over Portland, Oregon – and the Washington and Oregon coastlines. Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff saw it at least twice in the wee hours of the a.m., blazing across the sky from west to east, easily the brightest object in the sky at time.

ISS seen above Portland in the midst of some Northern Lights / Oregon Coast Beach Connection

During his time aboard the orbiting laboratory, Williams worked on a broad range of scientific studies and technology demonstrations. NASA said he contributed to research aimed at developing new cancer treatments and improving in-space manufacturing techniques for materials used in high-performance computers and electronics.

Williams also performed two spacewalks, helping prepare the station for upcoming power system upgrades and replacing a faulty joint on the Canadarm2 robotic arm. The agency says work like this supports life on Earth and lays groundwork for future human missions to the Moon and Mars.

Williams – who is from Maryland – spent some of his college years in California and his residency training at Harvard Medical School (Boston, Massachusetts).

Space Images of the Day: Latest from NASA, ISS, Marshall, Webb

After landing, the crew underwent routine medical checks before boarding helicopters to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where recovery operations are based. Williams will then travel by NASA aircraft to Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Above: the ISS looks down on the Pacific Northwest, Portland, Seattle and the Oregon / Washington coastlines as it passes over in March of 2025. It also caught some aurora borealis action.

The return marks another milestone in more than 25 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station. NASA says the station remains central to understanding the challenges of long-duration human spaceflight, expanding commercial activity in low Earth orbit, and supporting future exploration under the Artemis program and eventual missions to Mars.

To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit: www.nasa.gov/station

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