Expedition 39/40 Crew Members Dock at ISS after Technical Snag

After an unprecedented two-day delay due to an engine glitch, the trio of Expedition 39 made a safe landing at the International Space Station, NASA announced.

The Russian Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft carrying one U.S. and two Russian astronauts safely docked at the space station Poisk docking section at 7.53 p.m. EDT after their two-day, 34 orbit trip. The hatches to the station opened at 10.35 p.m. after they completed the checks for leaks and pressure between the two spacecrafts.

Currently aboard the space station are six crew members comprising of Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Flight Engineers Rick Mastracchio of NASA, Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov and flight engineers Steve Swanson and Oleg Artemyev. After arrival, the new crew carried a safety orientation the same day.

According to the earlier plans, Soyuz was expected to dock at the station within six hours after its launch from Kazakhstan i.e. 11.05 p.m. EDT Tuesday night. But unfortunately the arrival was delayed as the spacecraft failed to conduct the engine firing early in the rendezvous pattern after its launch in order to refine its orbit.

But this technical glitch did not harm the crew members and they replanned their approach while staying safe inside the spacecraft.

"It was a long two days but we made it. Glad to be here," Swanson said on a video link-up from the ISS, reports AFP.

The new trio will head back home later this year in the month of September as Expedition 40 crew members. They will be named Expedition 40 members when the Expedition 39 crew members Wakata, Mastracchio and Tyrin undock in the spacecraft from the space station in May.

During the six-month stay aboard the ISS, the Expedition 39/40 crew members will conduct several scientific investigations and technology demonstrations.