.NASA astronaut Don Pettit, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin as well as Ivan Vagner, came to the International Space Station Wednesday, taking its variety of citizens to 12 for the 13-day handover duration.After a two-orbit, three-hour experience to the station, the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft instantly docked to the orbiting research laboratory's Rassvet element at 3:32 p.m. EDT. The spacecraft launched at 12:23 p.m. EDT (9:23 p.m. Baikonur time) coming from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.NASA's insurance coverage of hatch position will certainly stream at 5:30 p.m. on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the company's web site. Hatch opening is actually booked to begin at 5:50 p.m. Learn just how to stream NASA material by means of a range of platforms, including social media.As soon as aboard, the trio will definitely sign up with Exploration 71 team members, including NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, as well as Suni Williams, and also Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, as well as Oleg Kononenko. Exploration 72 will start Monday, Sept. 23, upon the departure of Dyson, Chub, and also off-going place commander Kononenko, finishing a six-month remain for Dyson as well as a year-long exploration for Chub and also Kononenko.Pettit, Ovchinin, and also Vagner will spend roughly 6 months aboard the orbital station evolving medical study as Exploration 71/72 crew participants prior to going back to The planet in the spring of 2025. This is Pettit and also Ovchinin's fourth spaceflight and Vagner's second.Throughout Trip 72, two brand-new crews will certainly get there aboard the space station, featuring NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 introducing in September, observed by Crew-10, arranged for launch in February 2025..Follow Pettit on X throughout his purpose as well as get the most up to date space station crew information on Instagram, Facebook, as well as X.Find Out More regarding International Space Station research and also operations at:.https://www.nasa.gov/station.- end-.Joshua Finch/ Claire O'SheaHeadquarters, Washington202-358-1100joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov/ claire.a.o'shea@nasa.gov.Leah CheshierJohnson Room Facility, Houston281-483-5111leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov.