National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut Jonny Kim safely arrived on a Russian spacecraft at the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, hours after taking off from Kazakhstan. 

The Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft docked to the International Space Station’s Prichal module at approximately 4:57 a.m. ET Tuesday. Kim, who was joined by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, waited for about another hour and a half in order for the equalization of pressure in the vestibule – the small passageway between the docking interfaces – to finish and for the proper leak checks to be completed. 

Livestream footage showed cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, the station’s commander, preparing the hatch for opening. Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, who launched to the ISS last month on the SpaceX Endurance, is also seen maneuvering about. 

The NASA broadcast said the “smooth launch and uneventful rendezvous and docking” for the Soyuz MS-27 sets the stage for an 11-day handover between the newly arrived trio and the crew that will be departing in the MS-26 spacecraft on April 19. 

Those expected to leave are Ovchinin, NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and cosmonaut Ivan Vagner – all of whom have been aboard the station since September. The NASA broadcast said Pettit will land back in Kazakhstan on his 70th birthday – April 20.

The newly-expanded Expedition 72 crew gathers for a ceremony welcoming (front row, from left) NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritskoy. (NASA)

Kim will now begin an eight-month research mission aboard the ISS. 

The successful mission comes a day before President Donald Trump’s pick for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, is expected to face his confirmation hearing on Wednesday at 10 a.m. before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. 

NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens last month credited Trump’s intervention in securing the return of two astronauts – Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams – stranded for more than nine months on the ISS.