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Soyuz docks with ISS, delivers trio of fresh 'nauts

Orbiting outpost packed with parked capsules

The Soyuz capsule carrying the Kazakh Space Agency's Aidyn Aimbetov, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov successfully docked with the International Space Station this morning.

The mating followed a fly-around of the orbiting outpost, during which the TMA-18M onboard camera captured a nice view of the multiple vehicles currently clamped to the station:

View from Soyuz showing other vehicles parked at the ISS. Pic NASA TV

Right, let me just have a look for a parking spot

On the far left is Japan's "White Stork" HTV-5, centre left and right are the Soyuz TMA-17M and Progress 60 capsule, while Soyuz TMA-16M can been seen sticking out to the right.

Handily, NASA TV provided a graphic this morning so ISS residents can check, if necessary, exactly where they left their capsule parked:

NASA graphic showing capsules currently mated to the ISS

Ah, that's where I left it...

As you can see, the TMA-18 is resting opposite Progress 60, and here's another view from the capsule's onboard camera just prior to docking:

The view from the Soyuz camera just prior to docking

Left a bit...

The hatches between the Soyuz and the ISS will open later this morning, once all the necessary preliminaries have been completed. You can catch the action live on NASA TV.

Aimbetov, Mogensen and Volkov will bring the ISS's crew up to nine. Already on board are Expedition 44 commander Gennady Padalka and his compatriot flight engineers Oleg Kononenko and Mikhail Kornienko, NASA flight engineers Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Kimiya Yui.

Kelly and Kornienko are approaching the halfway point of their "One Year Crew" mission, which will see them spend 342 consecutive days aloft. ®

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