A Soyuz space craft named after the first man in space has docked with the International Space Station, days before the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering flight.
The Russian rocket is carrying an American and two Russians who will spend the next six months in space.
Their Soyuz craft, with a picture of Gagarin on the side, blasted off on April 5 from Russia’s Baikonur launch pad in Kazakshtan, where Gagarin’s April 12, 1961, flight began.
Russia plans a range of events to mark the April 12 anniversary.
compiled from agency reports