NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, Oleg Skripochka of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Hazzaa Ali Almansoori from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched safely for their mission aboard the International Space Station on the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft at 9:57 a.m. EDT.
The crew began their six-hour trip to the orbital laboratory during which they will orbit Earth four times. Coverage of the Soyuz docking to the International Space Station will begin on NASA TV and the agency’s website at 3 p.m., with the spacecraft docking expected at 3:45 p.m. NASA TV coverage of the hatch opening between the Soyuz and the space station will begin at 5 p.m.
For continued coverage and more information about the mission, visit: https://blogs-stage-old.nasawestprime.com/spacestation. Get space station news, images and features via social media on Instagram at: @iss, ISS on Facebook, and on Twitter @Space_Station and @ISS_Research.