U.S. Astronaut, Two Russians Arrive at ISS

A U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts arrived safely at the International Space Station on Thursday, boosting the orbiting laboratory's crew from seven to 10 members for the coming weeks and marking the start of an eight-month science mission.

NASA astronaut Chris Williams, joined by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, launched aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:27 a.m. EST, or 2:27 p.m. local time. The crew completed a rapid, two-orbit rendezvous, docking to the station's Rassvet module at 7:34 a.m. EST, about three hours after liftoff. Hatches between the spacecraft and the station opened around 10:10 a.m. EST, allowing the newcomers to be greeted by the Expedition 73 crew.

This marked the first spaceflight for Williams, a physicist with expertise in radio astronomy and a former MIT researcher, as well as for Mikaev, a military pilot. For Kud-Sverchkov, it was his second mission to the station. The trio will remain aboard the outpost until summer 2025, contributing to Expedition 74 after the current rotation transitions. Their arrival temporarily expands the station's population, enabling overlapping...