The Russian news agency said the Cirque du Soleil founder was safely extracted from the Russian Soyuz spacecraft's capsule as Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and NASA astronaut Michael Barratt waited inside the re-entry vehicle.
The three space travelers were part of the 19th expedition to the International Space Station and had departed the orbiting facility several hours prior to Sunday's landing.
Laliberte, 50, paid nearly $35 million to take part in the 12-day visit to the
space station.
RIA Novosti said with the ISS crew increasing to six members recently and the United States scrapping its space shuttle efforts, Laliberte will likely be the last space tourist to visit the station for several years.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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