Soyuz TMA-7 Docks With ISS

A Soyuz TMA spacecraft carrying the 12th space station crew docked the international space station at 1:27 a.m. EDT Monday. Onboard were Expedition 12 Commander William McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev, who launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:55 p.m. EDT Friday to begin a six-month stay in space.

With them is American Greg Olsen, the third private citizen in space, flying under a contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency. He will spend about eight days on the station.

Hatches between the Soyuz and the station were opened at 4:36 a.m. EDT.

Aboard the station, Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer and Flight Engineer John Phillips have been preparing for arrival of the Expedition 12 crew by stowing items for return to Earth and reviewing the timeline of joint handover activities planned for this week.

The Expedition 11 crewmembers also spent some time familiarizing themselves with the complement of work that Spaceflight Participant Greg Olsen will be conducting during his stay aboard the station.