A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying three people from the International Space Station has landed safely.

Russian space officials say the Soyuz landed Friday on its side in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.

It carried U.S. astronauts Ron Garan and Russian cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev.

The safe return of the three-man crew follows a recent spate of Russian space accidents, including satellites that failed to reach orbit and a cargo craft that crashed back to Earth.

A skeleton crew of three remains on the International Space Station – American Mike Fossum, Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov. They are scheduled to return to Earth around November 22.