According to the Mission Control Center, the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft, launched on October 19 from the Baikonur cosmodrome, has already arrived at the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft delivered Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Andrei Borisenko into orbit, as well as American astronaut Robert Shane Kimbrow.
Docking of the Soyuz with the ISS took place on October 21 at 12:59 pm Moscow time in automatic mode. In total, this mission will last about six months. Of the most interesting cargoes, one can single out a particle of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, which was brought on board by the Russians. At the end of the flight of this crew, the particle will be transferred to the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Star City.
According to the MCC, the astronauts, after checking the tightness of the dock and equalizing the pressure, opened the hatches and boarded the ISS without any problems. In orbit, they were met by the crew members of the previous expedition – Russian Anatoly Ivanishin, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and American Kathleen Rubins. Their return to Earth is scheduled for October 30th. According to the plans, the Soyuz MS spacecraft will undock from the ISS at 03:36 Moscow time and arrive in the Kazakh steppe at 06:59 Moscow time.
Sources: TASS
