ALMATAY, Kazakhstan — A Soyuz capsule packed with three astronauts successfully docked Friday with the International Space Station, bringing the size of the full crew at the orbiting laboratory to six.
American Tom Marshburn, Russian Roman Romanenko and Canadian Chris Hadfieldtraveled two days in the capsule before linking up with the space station’s Russian Rassvet research module.
The docking took place around 255 miles above the former capital of Kazakhstan.
Almost three hours passed before pressure was equalized between the capsule and the space station, allowing for safeentrance. As the hatches were unlocked, the arriving trio was welcomed by NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and Russian colleagues Oleg Novitsky and Yevgeny Tarelkin.
The six colleagues exchanged hugs and posed for photos as they floated in the weightless atmosphere of the station.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 12/22/2012