2 Americans, 1 Russian dock with International Space Station

By: The Associated Press

Friday, March 23, 2018 2:05 PM

MOSCOW (AP) A Soyuz capsule carrying two Americans and a Russian cosmonaut has docked with the International Space Station.

The docking at 10:40 p.m. (1940 GMT) Friday came two days after the capsule blasted off from Russia's manned space launch complex in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

On board the capsule were NASA astronauts Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev.

After the long procedure to open the hatches between the Soyuz and the space station, the trio will join station residents Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, Scott Tingle of NASA and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

The new crew will spend about five months on the space station.

2 Americans, 1 Russian dock with International Space Station

The Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz MS-08 space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, flies in the sky at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, March 21, 2018. The Russian rocket carries Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, and U.S. astronauts Richard Arnold and Andrew Feustel. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

The Associated Press

The Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz MS-08 space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, March 21, 2018. The Russian rocket carries Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, and U.S. astronauts Richard Arnold and Andrew Feustel. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

The Associated Press

A jerboa sits near the launch pad a few hours before the launch of the Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz MS-08 space ship carrying a new crew with at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, March 21, 2018. The Russian rocket carries Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, U.S. astronauts Richard Arnold and Andrew Feustel. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

The Associated Press

A dog walks near the launch pad a few hours before the launch of the Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz MS-08 space ship carrying a new crew with at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, March 21, 2018. The Russian rocket carries Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, U.S. astronauts Richard Arnold and Andrew Feustel. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

The Associated Press