New Crew Getting Up to Speed on the Station

Dec. 15, 2015: International Space Station Configuration
Dec. 15, 2015: International Space Station Configuration. (Clockwise from top) The Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft is docked to the Poisk mini-research module. The ISS Progress 61 spacecraft is docked to the Zvezda service module. The ISS Progress 60 spacecraft is docked to the Pirs docking compartment. The Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft is docked to the Rassvet mini-research module. The Cygnus-4 cargo craft is berthed to the Unity module.

The new Expedition 46 trio aboard the International Space Station is settling in for a six-month mission and getting right to work. They arrived Tuesday morning, had a quick safety briefing and rested up before their first full day aboard the orbital laboratory.

New Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko, Tim Kopra and Tim Peake worked throughout Wednesday familiarizing themselves with station systems and emergency procedures. During the afternoon Kopra began unloading the new Cygnus private cargo ship while Peake worked on NanoRacks gear and life support hardware. Malenchenko began unloading science experiments, including the Biosignal human cell study, and other supplies from the new Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft.

One-Year crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko are over nine months into their mission aboard the station. Flight Engineer Sergey Volkov has been with the crew since September. Kelly and Volkov paired up for eye exams today as part of the Ocular Health study. Kornienko assisted Malenchenko with the Soyuz cargo transfers. He also explored how vibrations affect the station structure caused by crew activities such as spacewalks, vehicle dockings and exercise.

Soyuz Approaches Station
ISS046e001535 (12/15/2015) — Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko manually docked the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft to the Rassvet module bringing he and astronauts Tim Kopra and Tim Peake to the International Space Station. The solar array of the Cygnus cargo craft is seen in the foreground.

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