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Russian Rocket Carrying Three Astronauts Arrives At Space Station

A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying a three-man crew docked smoothly at the International Space Station July 23.

The 16-story rocket delivered veteran Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and rookie astronauts Kjell Lindgren with NASA and Japan's Kimiya Yui to the station despite a glitch after liftoff when a solar panel providing energy for the rocket failed to open up.

The trio had been set to fly in May, but Russia delayed the mission after a botched launch of a similar Soyuz rocket in April. That accident stranded a Progress cargo ship in an orbit too low to reach the station, leading to its disintegration in the Earth's atmosphere.


The arrival of the three astronauts returns the space station to a full six-member crew for the first time in six weeks.


Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP