Six hours after launch, U.S.-Russian crew hooks up with International Space Station

Two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut arrived at the International Space Station tonight for a five-month tour of duty after a quick six-hour trip on a Russian Soyuz craft. With Russia’s Alexander Misurkin as commander and NASA’s Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba as crewmates, the Soyuz was launched from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:17 p.m. PT (3:17 a.m. local time Wednesday) and docked with the station at 7:56 p.m. PT. Acaba and Vande Hei join NASA’s Randy Bresnik, Russia’s Sergey Ryazanskiy and Italy’s Paolo Nespoli on the crew. Non-Russians are in the majority due to cost-cutting moves on Russia’s part.