A group of astronauts safely arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday, November 19, two days after launching from Kazakhstan. The crew was transported via a Russian Soyuz space vehicle which smoothly docked at the orbiting space laboratory.

Like Us on Facebook

The newest additions to the Expedition 50 crew is composed of Russian commander Oleg Novitskiy, European Space Agency's Thomas Pesquet and NASA's Peggy Whitson. They docked the Soyuz space vehicle to the Rassvet module at 4:58 P.M. EST.

The hatches were opened after 7:30 p.m. after intensive leak checks and completing an airtight seal. They are welcomed by Expedition 50 commander Shane Kimbrough, Soyuz MS-02 commander Sergey Ryzhikov, and Andrey Borisenko.

The three new astronauts face a busy mission ahead with scientific research and more than two spacewalks, including multiple vehicle arrivals and departures.

This week, the crew will detach an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo ship filled with trash and waste, including no longer needed equipment.

Another experiment involves studying how flames or fire will react to microgravity in this Cygnus cargo ship, as it moves away from the ISS at a safe distance. After this experiment, the Cygnus vehicle filled with trash and waste will be disposed of, burning upon re-entry in the Earth's atmosphere and then plunging into the Pacific Ocean.

The ISS crew will receive a Russian Progress cargo ship in the next two weeks and a Japanese HTV freighter in mid-December that is carrying advanced lithium ion batteries to replace the space station's solar arrays.

In January, a SpaceX Dragon cargo supply ship will arrive and another Progress cargo space vehicle in February. After that, another Cygnus will arrive in the same month and another Dragon in early March.

These three astronauts will stay aboard the orbiting space laboratory until May when they will be replaced by another three-person crew.