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Russian-U.S. space crew headed back to Earth after delay

By the CNN Wire Staff
An undocking glitch had delayed the departure of two Russians and an American from the international space station.
An undocking glitch had delayed the departure of two Russians and an American from the international space station.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • A spacecraft has undocked after jumper cables helped fix a glitch
  • The trio -- two Russians and one American -- are scheduled to return to Earth early Saturday
  • NASA says the delay happened after hooks and latches on the docking port did not release

(CNN) -- Two cosmonauts and an American astronaut were on their way back to Earth from the International Space Station Saturday morning after engineers used jumper cables to fix a glitch that delayed their departure, NASA said.

The trio undocked from the space station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft at 10:02 p.m. ET, NASA said. They are scheduled to land in Kazakhstan on Saturday morning after spending 176 days in space and 174 aboard the station.

An undocking glitch earlier had delayed the departure of Cmdr. Alexander Skvortsov and flight engineers Mikhail Kornienko and Tracy Caldwell Dyson.

NASA said the opening hooks and latches on the docking port would not release.

Video: Soyuz capsule stuck to Space Station
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To resolve the problem, flight engineer Fyodor Yurchikhin installed jumper cables to a failed sensor Friday, allowing the hooks to open.

According to NASA, a Soyuz space capsule took the first crew to the orbiting laboratory in November 2000. After the February 2003 Columbia accident, the Soyuz became the means of transportation for crew members going to or returning from the International Space Station.

CNN's Ninette Sosa contributed to this report.