Russian capsule docks safely at International Space Station
A Russian spacecraft carrying three astronauts from the United States, Britain and Russia has docked successfully at the International Space Station.
NASA's live broadcast from the Russian Mission Control showed the Soyuz spacecraft mooring smoothly at 8:33 p.m. Moscow time (1733 GMT) at the space outpost Tuesday about 6 ½ hours after lifting off from Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan.
Aboard are Russian Yuri Malenchenko, Timothy Kopra of NASA and Briton Timothy Peake, representing the European Space Agency.
Malenchenko docked the ship on manual controls after automatic docking was aborted for an unspecified reason.
The trio will spend six months aboard the space outpost. Already aboard are Russians Sergey Volkov and Mikhail Korniyenko, along with American Scott Kelly. The latter two have been on the space station since March and are on a year-long mission.
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The Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz TMA-19M space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. The Russian rocket carries British astronaut Tim Peake, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and U.S. astronaut Tim Kopra. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) -
The Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz TMA-19M space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, flies in the sky at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. The Russian rocket carries British astronaut Tim Peake, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and U.S. astronaut Tim Kopra. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) -
British astronaut Tim Peake, left, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, center, and U.S. astronaut Tim Kopra, members of the main crew of the expedition to the International Space Station (ISS), walk to report to members of the State Committee prior to the launch of Soyuz TMA-19M space ship at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, Pool) -
Russian Space Agency experts help British astronaut Tim Peake, a member of the main crew to the International Space Station (ISS), to stand up after inspecting his space suit prior to the launch of Soyuz-FG rocket at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
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