“We have made contact,” said a NASA presenter while the spacecraft maneuvered some 402 kilometers above the Pacific. Accompanied by their small figurine of R2D2, three new astronauts arrived safely at the International Space Station (ISS).
After a 6:00 flight aboard the Russian shuttle Soyuz cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, American astronaut Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui Japanese have docked at the station to 2:46 GMT (4:46 French time).
Upon arrival, they were warmly welcomed by the other three members of the crew, Russian Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Korniyenko and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly. During their stay on the ISS, the three astronauts will perform several scientific experiments, especially those aimed at controlling robots remotely. For his part, Oleg Kononenko promised to study particular “behavior of soap bubbles” to meet the demand of young lovers of space.
Flight was highly anticipated after the failure of last April launch of a Progress cargo ship, forcing Russian officials to postpone the departure of three astronauts to the ISS, originally scheduled end of May. This time, the trip took place as scheduled.
If one of the solar panels of the ship has not deployed on time, it did not affect the flight of the rocket as other panels, remained operational, were enough to fuel the rocket along the ride.
VIDEO. The 44th expedition reached the International Space Station
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