A Soyuz spacecraft successfully reached the International Space Station just over three hours after launching with two Russian cosmonauts and one American astronaut on board. The spacecraft lifted off from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and completed docking after orbiting the Earth twice, marking a quick journey compared to longer trips in the past.
The station’s current crew conducted extensive system checks before allowing the newcomers from the Soyuz to enter. Alexei Ovchinin leads the mission, accompanied by Russian colleague Ivan Vagner and American astronaut Donald Pettit.
The launch proceeded smoothly, with the Soyuz reaching orbit eight minutes after liftoff, a significant step forward for Russian space authorities following a launch delay in March due to a power system voltage drop. On the ISS, Pettit, Vagner, and Ovchinin will join forces with NASA astronauts Tracy Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Russian cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.
Wilmore and Williams exceeded their planned stay on the station after encountering technical issues during their journey to the ISS in Boeing’s Starliner capsule in June. Due to thruster problems and helium leaks, NASA deemed it unsafe to bring them back on Starliner. Consequently, they are scheduled to return to Earth with SpaceX in the following year.
