Soyuz with a New Crew on Board Docks with International Space Station

July 17, 2012

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide boarded their Soyuz TMA-05M vehicle last Sunday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and launched for orbit at 640am MSK. After two-day journey, they reached the International Space Station (ISS) at 8:52am MSK on July 17. The Expedition 32 crew members joined the current ISS crew members to continue working on projects and to contribute the international partnership mission in space. The launch took place on historical day of 37th anniversary of the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project that opened the door to U.S.-Russian space cooperation. Watch the ISS hatch opening video.