NASA Expedition 27: Dock with ISS

Hatches were opened between the Soyuz TMA-21 and International Space Station at 10:13 p.m. EDT and three new crew members floated into their new home.

Flight Engineers Ron Garan, Alexander Samokutyaev and Andrey Borisenko were welcomed aboard for a crew greeting ceremony and a mandatory safety orientation.

The new trio joins Expedition 27 Commander Dmitry Kondratyev and Flight Engineers Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli who have been living aboard the orbital laboratory since Dec. 17.

The three new flight engineers docked at 7:09 p.m. in their Soyuz TMA-21 to the Poisk module as they orbited over the Andes Mountains in Chile. They began their journey when they launched on Monday at 6:18 p.m. from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Garan, Samokutyaev and Borisenko are scheduled to live and work in space until September. They will become Expedition 28 crew members when Kondratyev, Coleman and Nespoli undock from the Rassvet module in May in their Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft. Borisenko will become station commander.

NASA - Living and Working