MOSCOW (AP) — An American and two Russians made a quick trip aboard a Russian capsule to the International Space Station on Friday.
NASA astronaut Laurel O’Hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub arrived at the station three hours after taking off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. O’Hara will stay at the station for six months, while Kononenko and Chubb will spend a year.
The three were supposed to travel to the space station in the spring, but their original capsule was replaced by another crew. The crew, which includes two Russians and an American, will return to Earth this month.
His stay was extended from six months to a year when his Soyuz capsule developed a coolant leak while he was on station.
It was the first spaceflight for O’Hara and Chubb, while for mission commander Kononenko, it was his fifth trip to the orbiting station.
The three will join the current seven residents from the United States, Russia, Denmark and Japan.
By the time Kononenko completes his one-year mission, he will have set a new record for spending more than 1,000 days in space.
