A Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked Thursday with the International Space Station, bringing three reinforcements for the station's three-man crew, dpa reported. The spacecraft arrived two days after launching from Kazakhstan and docked at 8:36 am Moscow time (0436 GMT) at a record 399 kilometres above the Earth. Never had such manoeuvre been completed at such a height, Russian mission control told the Interfax news agency. The previous record was 393 kilometres in 2001. The six astronauts are to achieve another first: receiving a commercial US space freighter, the Dragon, which is to be launched Saturday. Two Russians and one American - Gennady Padalka, 53; Sergei Revin, 46; and Joe Acaba - arrived on board the Soyuz for a four-month mission. For Acaba, it was a birthday present as he turned 45. They are to supplement the current station crew of Russian commander Oleg Kononenko, American Don Pettit and Dutchman Andre Kuipers. The departure of the Soyuz had been delayed nearly seven weeks after a bungled pressure test cracked the original Soyuz capsule, making it unusable and requiring a replacement.
