A Russian space capsule carrying astronauts from the United States, Britain as well as a cosmonaut from Russia has successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS).
The Soyuz capsule blasted off earlier on December 15 from Russia's space-launch facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
The launch went off with no reported problems and the capsule entered orbit at an altitude of about 212 kilometers around nine minutes after liftoff.
The three spacefarers arriving at the ISS on December 15 are Russian Yury Malenchenko, NASA's Timothy Kopra, and Timothy Peake, a Briton representing the European Space Agency.
They are scheduled to spend six months aboard the space craft as it orbits the Earth.
Already aboard the station are Russians Sergei Volkov and Mikhail Korniyenko along with American Scott Kelly.