An American astronaut who set the US record for cumulative time in orbit safely returned to Earth today along with two Russian cosmonauts after a

six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

NASA's Jeff Williams, 58, logged 534 days in space over four missions. The ISS commander landed at 7:13 local time on the steppes of central Kazakhstan aboard a Russian-made Soyuz capsule along with Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka. 

"Touchdown! Welcome home @Astro_Jeff, officially back on Earth after 172-day mission & total 534 days on 4 missions," NASA tweeted.

A NASA live video feed showed Williams on the ground smiling and waving while talking on a satellite phone before being carried away for medical tests.