(Reuters) — A low-key ceremonial change of command took place aboard the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday (September 5).
Veteran Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka of Roscosmos handed over the reigns to NASA’s Scott Kelly.
“I am ready to relinquish command to Scott Kelly,” Padalka said, as he handed over the microphone to Kelly.
“And I assume command of the International Space Station, a great ship and one that not only serves us very well, but serves our various countries well,” said Kelly. “We have people from United States, Russia, Japan, Denmark, Kazakhstan and Japan. So as you can see this is an international crew, an international partnership, and it’s what makes this space station great. So thank you very much for everyone joining us on board today. Thank you. I assume command.”
On Friday (September 4), the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft had docked with the station’s Poisk module for an eight day direct crew handover.
The Russian Soyuz spaceship safely delivered a three-man international crew to the ISS including Russian Commander Sergei Volkov, Kazakh cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov and Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen.
The trio floated in weightlessness into the station that was already manned by a six-member crew.
Mogensen and Aimbetov, Kazakhstan’s third cosmonaut, are due to return to Earth on Sept. 12 together with Russian cosmonaut Padalka, who has been working aboard the ISS since March.
By then, Padalka will have racked up a total of 878 days in space, more than any other person.
Volkov will land next March together with NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian Mikhail Kornienko, who will have spent one year in space by that time.
