On Wednesday, a Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov docked with the International Space Station (ISS) in just over three hours—a groundbreaking feat.
The crew launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and successfully docked their Soyuz to the station's Rassvet module three hours and three minutes later. Typical missions take about six hours, making this a significant advancement.
This voyage marked the first crewed use of Roscosmos's new "ultra-fast" flight profile, even outpacing the quickest cargo deliveries to the ISS.
The launch came two and a half weeks ahead of the ISS's 20th anniversary. Expedition 1—NASA's William Shepard and Roscosmos's Yuri Lonchakov and Sergei Krikalev—arrived on November 2, 2000.
"The 20th anniversary of continuous human presence in space will be a remarkable milestone, and we're excited to celebrate it," said Kate Rubins. "The ISS stands as one of humanity's greatest engineering triumphs, enduring flawlessly for two decades."
The arrivals were greeted by Expedition 63 commander Chris Cassidy (NASA) and engineers Anatoli Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner (Roscosmos), who have been aboard since April. The crews will collaborate for seven days, after which Expedition 63 returns via Soyuz MS-16.
During their six-month Expedition 64 rotation, Rubins, Ryzhikov, and Kud-Sverchkov will advance key research. "We'll test tissue bioprinting, cell growth in microgravity, and continue DNA sequencing," Rubins explained. She pioneered DNA sequencing in space back in 2016.
The team will soon welcome SpaceX's Crew-1: NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, plus JAXA's Soichi Noguchi. Delayed from Halloween due to an engine issue on October 2, their launch is now set for mid-November.
