![\"Expedition](\"https:\/\/blogs.nasa.gov\/spacestation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/240\/2019\/03\/47327022602_29ddd7dc91_o.jpg\")
<\/a>The Soyuz MS-12 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station<\/a> at\u00a03:14 p.m. EDT (12:14 a.m. March 15 Kazakhstan time)\u00a0and has safely reached orbit.\u00a0 At the time of launch, the station was flying about 250 miles over southern Russia, across the northeast border with Kazakhstan; more than 1,100 statute miles ahead of the Soyuz as it leaves the launch pad.<\/p>\n NASA astronauts\u00a0Nick Hague<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Christina Koch<\/a>, and cosmonaut\u00a0Alexey Ovchinin<\/a>\u00a0of Roscosmoshave begun their six-hour trip to the orbital laboratory where they will live and work for more than six months. The new crew members will dock to the Rassvet module at 9:07 p.m. Expedition 59 will begin officially at the time of docking.<\/p>\n About two hours later, hatches between the Soyuz and the station will open and the new residents will be greeted by NASA astronaut\u00a0Anne McClain<\/a>, station commander Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency. The current three-person crew\u00a0just welcomed<\/a>\u00a0the first American commercial crew vehicle as it docked to the station on March 3, amidst a busy schedule of scientific research and operations since arriving in December.<\/p>\n Coverage of the Soyuz docking to the International Space Station will begin on NASA TV\u2019s media channel<\/a> and the agency\u2019s website<\/a> beginning at 8:45 p.m. with the spacecraft docking expected at 9:07 p.m.<\/p>\n Coverage of the hatch opening between the Soyuz and the space station will begin at 10:30 p.m.<\/p>\n For continued coverage and more information about the mission, visit:\u00a0https:\/\/blogs.nasa.gov\/spacestation\/<\/a>.\u00a0Get space station news, images and features via social media on Instagram at:\u00a0@iss<\/a>, ISS<\/a> on Facebook, and on Twitter @Space_Station<\/a> and @ISS_Research<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Norah Moran <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Soyuz MS-12 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station<\/a> at\u00a03:14 p.m. EDT (12:14 a.m. March 15 Kazakhstan time)\u00a0and has safely reached orbit.\u00a0 At the time of launch, the station was flying about 250 miles over southern Russia, across the northeast border with Kazakhstan; more than 1,100 statute miles ahead of the Soyuz as it leaves the launch pad.<\/p>\n NASA astronauts\u00a0Nick Hague<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Christina Koch<\/a>, and cosmonaut\u00a0Alexey Ovchinin<\/a>\u00a0of Roscosmoshave begun their six-hour trip to the orbital laboratory where they will live and work for more than six months. The new crew members will dock to the \u2026 Continue reading Crew Safely in Orbit After Successful Launch<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a>The Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft is launched with Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, Friday March 15, 2019, Kazakh time (March 14 Eastern time) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Hague, Koch, and Ovchinin will spend six-and-a-half months living and working aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA\/Bill Ingalls) <\/p>\n