Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft carrying new ISS mission crew successfully docked with the station in automatic mode, – MSC representative reported.

Soyuz FG booster with Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft was launched from Baikonur spaceport on Wednesday at 01.17 Moscow time. Docking planned for March 26 was postponed to March 28 by MSC decision.

“The crew had no need to interfere with approaching and Kurs docking system operation. Soyuz TMA-12M docking with Pirs module of Russian ISS segment took place in automatic mode.”

AS RSC Energia representative Vilaty Lopota reported earlier automatics shifted Soyuz from short 6-hour rendezvous scheme to the previous 2-days one on March 26 due to the possible failure of onboard software resulting in necessary orbit adjustment maneuver performed after the second orbit.

Special commission looks for the reasons of Soyuz onboard software failure.

New ISS crew comprised by cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev and astronaut Steven Swanson opened the hatches between the spacecraft and the station and got inside the ISS where were greeted by Mikhail Tyurin, Koichi Wakata and Richard Mastracchio.

Then they had communication session with Roscosmos and NASA representatives and their relatives being in Mission Control Centre in Korolev city.

The crew will carry out lots of scientific experiments, work to unlod Russian, European, American and Japanese cargo vehicles, launch Peru miscosatellite in the course of one of the spacewalks. The crew is going to live onboard the station for 169 days.