MOSCOW (AP) — An American and two Russians made a quick trip to the International Space Station on Friday aboard a Russian capsule.
NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and Roscosmos astronauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and docked with the station three hours later. O’Hara will spend six months at the station while Kononenko and Chubb will spend one year.
The three were supposed to travel to the space station in the spring, but their original capsule was used to replace another crew. This crew, which also consists of two Russians and an American, will return to Earth this month.
His stay was extended from six months to a year due to a coolant leak in his Soyuz capsule while he was on the station.
For O’Hara and Chubb, it is the first space flight, and for mission commander Kononenko, it is his fifth trip to the orbital station.
The three will join the station’s seven current residents, from the United States, Russia, Denmark and Japan.
When Kononenko completes his one-year mission, he will have set a new record for the longest stay in space, more than 1,000 days.
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