Russia's Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, bringing the next crew - including the first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - to the orbital outpost, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan.

The approach and docking of the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft, launched aboard a Soyuz-FG carrier rocket earlier in the day, took place in an autonomous regime.

After the crew of the Russian Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft opened the hatch and entered the International Space Station early on Thursday, the number of crew members on board the ISS was brought to nine for the first time since 2015.

The Soyuz spacecraft brought Russian space agency Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, US NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and the first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates, Hazzaa Al Mansoori, to the ISS.

Onboard the station they were welcomed by Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Alexander Skvortsov, US astronauts Christina Koch, Nick Hague, Andrew Morgan, and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano.

UAE astronaut Hazzaa Al Mansoori is expected to stay aboard the ISS for eight days to carry out tests divided into three parts: scientific experiments in cooperation with international partners, simple scientific experiments proposed by Emirati schoolchildren and joint educational initiatives with the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

In April, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center selected Al Mansoori to be the country's first astronaut to fly to the ISS.

To honor the first UAE citizen in the space, Dubai authorities have projected a spectacular light show on the Burj Khalifa skyscraper, the tallest building in the world.

Source: Sputnik News

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Japanese, Russian rockets prepare to launch cargo and crew this week
Houston TX (SPX) Sep 24, 2019
Japan is getting ready to launch its H-II Transport Vehicle-8 (HTV-8) cargo craft on Tuesday at 12:05 p.m. EDT to replenish the International Space Station crew. Russia has already rolled out its Soyuz MS-15 crew ship to its launch pad for a liftoff on Wednesday at 9:57 a.m. with three new crewmates. NASA TV will broadcast all mission activities live. The HTV-8 space freighter from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) is packed with over four tons of crew supplies, station hardware and new sc ... read more