Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft arrives at the International Space Station

On September 11, 2024, a Soyuz rocket launched Roscosmos’ Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft into space, bound for the International Space Station (ISS).

The launch took place from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Three astronauts were on board the spacecraft: Don Pettit from NASA, as well as Ivan Vagner and Alexey Ovchinin from Roscosmos. This is the fourth space flight for Pettit and Ovchinin. For Vagner, it is the second.

Soyuz MS-26 made the journey to the ISS and automatically docked with the Rassvet module. Two and a half hours later, after all technical safety checks had been successfully completed, the hatch between the ship and the Rassvet module of the ISS was opened.

With the arrival of the new tenants, the ISS now has 12 residents. The new tenants have joined the members of Expedition 71, who are Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin and Oleg Kononenko.

Expedition 72 will formally begin on September 23, when Dyson, Chub and Kononenko, the latter the outgoing station commander, will depart the ISS, completing a six-month stay for Dyson and a one-year stay for Chub and Kononenko.

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft approaches the International Space Station shortly before docking. (Photo: NASA)

During Expedition 72, two new groups of astronauts will arrive at the space station.

Pettit, Vagner and Ovchinin will remain aboard the space station for approximately six months. (Source: NCYT by Amazings)