A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians and an American has successfully docked with the International Space Station.
Cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky and NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins made the flight from Earth in less than six hours after blasting off early on September 26 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
It was the third time a Soyuz spacecraft has taken a short route to the space station, which orbits about 400 kilometers above Earth. For years previously, the journey was spread out over two days.
The three new arrivals join three other crew members already on board the space station -- a Russian, an American, and an Italian.
The incoming crew's six-month mission will include a spacewalk with the Olympic torch to mark Russia’s hosting of the Sochi Games in February.
Cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky and NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins made the flight from Earth in less than six hours after blasting off early on September 26 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
It was the third time a Soyuz spacecraft has taken a short route to the space station, which orbits about 400 kilometers above Earth. For years previously, the journey was spread out over two days.
The three new arrivals join three other crew members already on board the space station -- a Russian, an American, and an Italian.
The incoming crew's six-month mission will include a spacewalk with the Olympic torch to mark Russia’s hosting of the Sochi Games in February.