Russia: Space exploration: International Crew Takes Short Cut to Space Station

Russian Soyuz in docking maneuver with Intl. Space station

A Russian spaceship took a shortcut to the international space station on Wednesday, delivering a veteran cosmonaut, a rookie Italian astronaut and an American mother on her second flight to the outpost in less than six hours.

The capsule slipped into its berthing port early Wednesday about 400 kilometers above the south Pacific Ocean. "Everything went very well," NASA mission commentator Kelly Humphries said during a televised broadcast of the docking.

Typically, the journey takes two days, but Russian engineers have developed new flight procedures that tweak the steering maneuvers and expedite the trip.

One other crew capsule and several cargo ships previously have taken the fast route to the station.

The express ride to the station began when a Soyuz rocket soared off its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and deposited the crew's capsule into orbit. The spaceship circled around the planet less than four times before catching up to the station, a $100 billion project of 15 nations.

To watch departure click here.

Read more: International Crew Takes Short Cut to Space Station (Video) | News | The Moscow Times