28 July 2017, 17:50 GMT
BAIKONUR COSMODROME (Sputnik) — A Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft with three Expedition 52/53 crew members docked early Saturday with the International Space Station after a six hours’ flight, a spokesperson at Russia’s Mission Control Center told Sputnik.
By bringing Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky, NASA astronaut Randolph Bresnik and European Space Agency (ESA)'s astronaut Paolo Nespoli to the station the craft has returned it back to its full crew.
Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and US astronauts Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson of the Expedition 52, currently on board the ISS, are due to return to Earth in September.
NASA said the new crew were scheduled to open the hatches and come aboard starting at at approximately 7:40 p.m. EST (23:40GMT Friday). They are expected to spend 139 days on board the ISS.
The station's Russian crew members plan a spacewalk in mid-August to test a new space suit, Orlan-MKS. They will also launch several scientific satellites and conducts experiments.
