First British astronaut arrives at the ISS on 15 Dec 2015

EARTH Aboard the International Space Station -- 15 Dec 2015 -- Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko manually docked the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft on Dec. 15, 2015 to the International Space Station's Rassvet module after an initial automated attempt was aborted. Malenchenko took manual control of the Soyuz, backed it away from the station to assess the Soyuz' systems, then re-approached the ISS for a manual docking. Flight Engineer Tim Kopra of NASA and Flight Engineer Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency) flanked Malenchenko as he brought the Soyuz to the Rassvet port for the start of a six-month mission. The solar array from the docked Orbital AT Cygnus cargo vehicle is also in view at right -- Picture by Atlas Photo Archive/NASA