China News Agency, Moscow, December 8 (Reporter Tian Bing) The Russian National Aerospace Corporation reported on the 8th that the Russian "Soyuz MS-20" manned spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station and three crew members entered the space station.
At about 16:40 on the 8th, Moscow time, the Russian "Soyuz MS-20" manned spacecraft successfully docked with the small research module of the International Space Station "Explorer" in an automatic mode.
At about 19:12, after the completion of the tightness test of the docking and the pressure balance between the manned spacecraft and the space station, the hatch opened. Russian astronaut Alexander Misulkin, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maesawa and his Business assistant Yozo Hirano entered the space station and joined the two Russian astronauts on the space station, one NASA astronaut, and the four astronauts on the "Dragon" spacecraft performing the Crew-3 mission.
They will stay on the space station for 12 days and return to the ground on December 20.
At 10:38 Moscow time, the "Soyuz 2.1a" carrier rocket carrying the "Soyuz MS-20" manned spacecraft was launched at the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan.
On November 17, TASS and the Russian National Aerospace Corporation signed a memorandum of cooperation. TASS opened a reporter station on the International Space Station. Astronaut Misurkin became the first special space reporter of TASS and will talk about his work and life on the space station.
This is Russia's renewed space tourism business after a 12-year suspension. From 2001 to 2009, 7 self-financed space tourists took the "Soyuz" spacecraft to visit the International Space Station.
(over)