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International Space Station: the hatch opens, an American and two Russians enter

The trio departed from Kazakhstan in the Soyuz capsule

16/09/2023

The Russian Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub and American Loral O'Hara docked with the International Space Station. The rocket had lifted off from launch pad 31 in Baikonur at 18.44 Moscow time, 17.44 in Italy. Kononenko, who is also a commander, is on his fifth flight, Chub and O'Hara flying into space for the first time. Kononenko and Chub will spend a year on the ISS, O'Hara six months. The commander of the Russian team after this flight will become the first person to spend a total of more than a thousand days in space.

The trio departed Kazakhstan in the Soyuz capsule, which docked to the space station three hours later. The docking took place as the probe flew 260 miles (418 kilometers) over Ukraine.
The trio was supposed to fly last spring, but their original capsule was needed as a replacement for another crew. That crew will return home this month after an extended stay of one year. Their capsule developed a coolant leak while parked at the station.