NASA/Bill Ingalls
A Russian Soyuz space capsule carrying Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA and Soyuz commander Mikhail Tyurin touches down in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz fires rockets just before it lands to slow its final impact. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Astronaut and Waterbury native Rick Mastracchio landed safely aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule at 9:58 p.m. EST Tuesday evening, capping an eventful six months aboard the International Space Station both in orbit and on the ground as relations between the United States and Russia deteriorated.

Mastracchio traveled to the station with the Olympic torch and plenty of international optimism on Nov. 7, 2013. Shortly before his return to Earth on Tuesday, rising tensions between the United States and Russia led Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin to declare that his country will no longer support the International Space Station past 2020 and will cease supplying rocket engines for U.S. military satellite launches. This move came in response to U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia following its annexation of Crimea.

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Lon Seidman is the host and producer of “Lon.TV,” a consumer technology video show that is on a number of platforms including YouTube and Amazon. He creates in-depth, consumer-friendly product reviews and commentary. His YouTube channel has over 300,000 subscribers and more than 100 million views.

In addition to being a full-time content creator, Lon is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Hartford (his alma mater) where he teaches a course in entrepreneurial content creation.

Prior to becoming a full-time creator, Lon was a partner at The Safety Zone, his family’s business that manufactures gloves and safety equipment. The company has locations around the globe and employs over 200 people worldwide. The Safety Zone was acquired by the Genuine Parts Corporation in 2016.

Lon is also active in public service, serving as the Chairman of the Essex Board of Education, a member of the Region 4 Board of Education, and as the Secretary / Treasurer of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education. He was endorsed by both Democrats and Republicans for his re-election in 2021.

The views, opinions, positions, or strategies expressed by the author are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of CTNewsJunkie.com.