AlHijjah 20, 1432, Nov 16, 2011, SPA - Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, with three astronauts aboard, docked Wednesday with the International Space Station (ISS). The Soyuz transportation module locked onto an ISS entrance hatch at 0524 GMT after a flight of some 49 hours. It was launched Monday from Kazakhstan's Baikonur space centre. American Dan Burbank and Russians Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin were scheduled to enter the ISS at 0825 GMT, after checks of the link-up seal between the crew transportation module and the space station were complete, said a statement from Russia's national space agency Roscosmos. They are to remain aboard the ISS until March 2012, DPA reported. Three astronauts are currently at the station: American Mike Fossum, Russia's Sergei Volkov and Japan's Satoshi Furukawa. The next manned flight to the ISS is scheduled for December 21.
