After more than a decade of efforts to bring the International Space Station to the highest of operating standards, the orbital facility was finally declared able to hold a full, six-astronaut crew a short time ago, and now, after the successful docking of the Soyuz TMA-15 capsule on the station, it does. Expedition 19 crew, already in orbit, is about to be joined by three more astronauts. Together, they will form the full crew of Expedition 20, the first truly international crew on the ISS since work started. Featuring astronauts and cosmonauts from NASA, ESA, JAXA, RosCosmos and CSA, the new crew will be the first six-member one in orbit.

The Russian-built Soyuz space capsule docked at the orbital lab at 8:34 am EDT (1234 GMT) Friday, and brought in astronauts Roman Romanenko (Russia, RosCosmos), Robert Thirsk (Canada, CSA) and Frank De Winne (Belgium, ESA).

De Winne will be the first European commander of the ISS since the lab was constructed, again underlining the important contributions that the European Space Agency brought to the space initiative. The three will join Expedition 19 member Gennady Padalka (RosCosmos, ISS Commander) and flight engineers Koichi Wakata (JAXA, flight engineer) and Mike Barratt (NASA, flight engineer).

 

“Hatch opening between the Soyuz and Zarya will occur about 9:45 am (1345 GMT) signifying the beginning of Expedition 20 and continuous six-person crew operations. A welcome ceremony and a safety briefing for the new arrivals will follow,” said NASA in a press release on its official website, following the successful completion of the docking procedure. The Soyuz capsule blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, and spent two days in orbit before catching up with the ISS and docking on its Earth-facing Zarya port.

 

“I think it shows a great example to the rest of the world that if nations want to work together for something great, for something wonderful, something for the future of our kids, that we can achieve some wonderful things. I hope we can continue this for many, many years to come,” the future commander of the ISS said prior to launching on the Soyuz. The crew will remain in its current configuration until the STS-127 shuttle flight to the ISS, scheduled to take place in mid-June.