The Russian Soyuz spacecraft has finally docked with the International Space Station following a two day delay. The three crew members onboard have joined the rest of Expedition 39 onboard the space station.
The flight of the Soyuz TMA-12M was originally scheduled to last 6 hours. However, a problem with the craft's steering thrusters occurred during an orbital maneuver causing a delay in the docking schedule. Due to the problem, the entire flight took a total of 48 hours to complete.
"Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov was at the controls of the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft when it docked automatically to the Poisk docking compartment at 7:53 p.m. EDT," says NASA. "Skvortsov was flanked by Flight Engineers Steve Swanson and Oleg Artemyev during the two day flight."
Following the completion of the automatic docking procedure, Skvortsov opened the hatch into the ISS and the three man crew onboard the Soyuz officially boarded the space station. Expedition 39 is now comprised of six members including Commander Koichi Wakata, Mikhail Tyurin and Rick Mastracchio. Wakata, Tyurin and Mastracchio were already onboard the space station but will be departing soon. Once the three board the Soyuz and detach the spacecraft from the ISS, Skvortsov, Swanson and Artemyev will officially begin Expedition 40.
"After the welcoming ceremony and congratulatory words with family, friends and mission officials, the newly comprised crew conducted a mandatory safety orientation," NASA says. "All six crew members then will have an off-duty day Friday as they relax, having shifted their schedules to accommodate the busy launch and docking activities."
Originally, the Soyuz spacecraft carrying Skvortsov and his crew was supposed to dock after four orbits. However, the steering thruster problem forced the craft to complete 34 orbits before docking. However, 34 orbits is the traditional rendezvous sequence so the mission controllers had no difficulty adapting to the unforeseen situation.
"The Soyuz crew was safe the entire time as flight controllers replanned their approach and rendezvous," says NASA. "The two day launch-to-docking profile was the normal Soyuz mission profile used for years before Russian space officials began single-day launch to docking efforts in March 2013."
Despite the delays, Skvortsov and his crew was safe during the entire time. Once the docking was completed, the crew members expressed their relief after spending two days in a cramped space.
"It was a long two days but we made it. Glad to be here," said Swanson in a video feed sent back from the ISS.
