New space crew docks at ISS - CNN

New space crew docks at ISS

Lydia O'Neal, special for CNN

Updated 1934 GMT (0334 HKT) March 19, 2016

The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis took this picture of the International Space Station after leaving it in July 2011. Atlantis was the last shuttle to visit the station, which was first launched in 1998 and built by a partnership of 16 nations.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis took this picture of the International Space Station after leaving it in July 2011. Atlantis was the last shuttle to visit the station, which was first launched in 1998 and built by a partnership of 16 nations.
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The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour initiates the station's first assembly sequence in 1998. The International Space Station includes several large modules, each launched separately and connected in space by astronauts.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour initiates the station's first assembly sequence in 1998. The International Space Station includes several large modules, each launched separately and connected in space by astronauts.
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The Zarya control module, on the left with the solar panels, floats above Earth with its newly attached Unity module after the first assembly sequence in December 1998.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
The Zarya control module, on the left with the solar panels, floats above Earth with its newly attached Unity module after the first assembly sequence in December 1998.
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The first crew of the International Space Station, seen on board in December 2000. From the left are cosmonaut Yuri P. Gidzenko, astronaut William M. Shepherd and cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
The first crew of the International Space Station, seen on board in December 2000. From the left are cosmonaut Yuri P. Gidzenko, astronaut William M. Shepherd and cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev.
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The Endeavour crew installs the first set of U.S. solar arrays on the station in 2000.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
The Endeavour crew installs the first set of U.S. solar arrays on the station in 2000.
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In March 2001, a space shuttle delivered the station's second crew and brought the first one home. It also brought Leonardo, the station's first Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, to the station. Leonardo carried supplies and equipment.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
In March 2001, a space shuttle delivered the station's second crew and brought the first one home. It also brought Leonardo, the station's first Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, to the station. Leonardo carried supplies and equipment.
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In September 2006, the space shuttle Atlantis docked with the space station, delivering solar wings and a new truss.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
In September 2006, the space shuttle Atlantis docked with the space station, delivering solar wings and a new truss.
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The space shuttle Discovery leaves the space station in March 2008 after its crew successfully delivered and installed the Japanese-built Kibo lab.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
The space shuttle Discovery leaves the space station in March 2008 after its crew successfully delivered and installed the Japanese-built Kibo lab.
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The unmanned SpaceX Dragon spacecraft connects to the space station in May 2012. It was the first private spacecraft to successfully reach an orbiting space station.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
The unmanned SpaceX Dragon spacecraft connects to the space station in May 2012. It was the first private spacecraft to successfully reach an orbiting space station.
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An unmanned Russian cargo craft disconnects from the space station in April 2013. The station relies heavily on ships to bring up supplies.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
An unmanned Russian cargo craft disconnects from the space station in April 2013. The station relies heavily on ships to bring up supplies.
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Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency peers out of the space station's Cupola observatory on April 27. The Cupola is a dome-shaped module that allows station crew members to observe and guide activities outside the station.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency peers out of the space station's Cupola observatory on April 27. The Cupola is a dome-shaped module that allows station crew members to observe and guide activities outside the station.
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A Russian Soyuz spacecraft is docked with the space station on May 5. Since the U.S. shuttle program ended in 2011, all crew members are ferried to and from the space station on Russian rockets.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft is docked with the space station on May 5. Since the U.S. shuttle program ended in 2011, all crew members are ferried to and from the space station on Russian rockets.
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A Soyuz spacecraft is seen on May 13 as it lands in Kazakhstan with Wakata and other members of the his Expedition 39 crew.
Photos: Notable moments of the International Space Station
A Soyuz spacecraft is seen on May 13 as it lands in Kazakhstan with Wakata and other members of the his Expedition 39 crew.
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Story highlights

  • Three astronauts arrive at ISS
  • Jeff Williams is set to break the record for the total number of days in space

(CNN)Less than three weeks after Scott Kelly returned from his record-breaking space expedition, three astronauts docked at the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin, replaced Kelly and two cosmonauts from the Russian Federal Space Agency, who completed their mission on March 1.
The trio will conduct hundreds of biology, biotechnology, physical science and earth science experiments over six months on ISS.
(From left) NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka.
(From left) NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka.
Williams is set to break Kelly's American record for cumulative days in space, with a whopping 534 days away from Earth. Kelly's last trip, which spanned nearly a year, was the longest time an American astronaut spent in orbit. Over four flights, Kelly spent 520 days in space.
The crew lifted off in the Soyuz rocket from a Kazakhstan launch site on Friday evening. Less than six hours later, it arrived at the ISS, orbiting at about 250 miles above the Earth's surface.
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As he begins his stay, 58-year-old Williams, a retired Army colonel and Wisconsin native who has already logged 362 days in space, leaves his wife, two adult sons and three grandchildren back on Earth. Friday marked his third space station trip -- another record, according to NASA.
Williams took to Twitter, recalling a return from a mission in 2010.
He is set to take command of ISS on June 4.
As for the two Russian cosmonauts, 46-year-old Skripochka, who leaves behind his wife and two children, is returning to ISS after completing a five-month stay there in 2011. Friday marked the first space flight for Ovchinin, the 44-year-old commander of the Soyuz craft.
The trio joins a NASA commander, a European Space Agency flight engineer and a cosmonaut already at the station.