The New ISS Crew Is Finally in Space

After months of delay, the International Space Station's next crew of astronauts finally launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, at 5:02 PM EST this afternoon.

The Soyuz capsule ferrying the crew into orbit is expected to dock with ISS around 10:45 PM tonight, and they should be welcomed into the station around midnight. The trio is headed up by veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos—on his third trip to space—as well as first-time astronauts and flight engineers Kjell Lindgren of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA.

Also onboard was an adorable toy version of R2-D2, which hung from the Soyuz ceiling as a talisman of good luck. The inclusion of the beloved astromech droid is just the latest instance of Expedition 44/45's undying love for Star Wars, which was first evidenced by their insane crew portrait.

No doubt the astronauts already manning the station will be happy to see some fresh faces, given that the ISS has been short-staffed for several weeks. Kononenko, Lindgren, and Yui were originally slated for launch on May 26, but were delayed after cargo resupply failures.

The first of these failed attempts occurred on April 28, when a Russian Progress 59 cargo spacecraft spun way out of control and plunged back to Earth, incinerating its contents. Exactly two months later, on June 28, SpaceX's resupply attempt was also thwarted after a Falcon 9 rocket spectacularly exploded shortly after liftoff. The crash marked the first time SpaceX ever failed to deliver a payload to the ISS.

Fortunately, Roscosmos pulled off an emergency third attempt to send food and equipment to the station on July 3. However, by that time, commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineers Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko were the only crew left on the station. The previous expedition members—including orbital superstar Samantha Cristoforetti—arrived back on Earth on June 11, having already delayed their homecoming to help fill the gap between shift changes.

But now that the ISS is set to be fully staffed again, there should be a lot more research coming down the pipeline. Moreover, it's reassuring to see launches get back on schedule without a hitch—though I have to note that one of the communication officers admitted, "we had music playing; we couldn't hear you that well" only a few minutes before the launch, on NASA's live coverage. Music appreciation and manned spaceflight go hand-in-hand at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The next shift change will occur in September, marking the beginning of Expedition 45/46. No word yet on what the playlist or good luck charm will be for that launch, but we'll keep you posted.