A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying a three-man crew docked smoothly at the International Space Station July 23.
The 16-story rocket delivered veteran Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and rookie astronauts Kjell Lindgren with NASA and Japan's Kimiya Yui to the station despite a glitch after liftoff when a solar panel providing energy for the rocket failed to open up.
The trio had been set to fly in May, but Russia delayed the mission after a botched launch of a similar Soyuz rocket in April. That accident stranded a Progress cargo ship in an orbit too low to reach the station, leading to its disintegration in the Earth's atmosphere.
The Soyuz returned to flight on July 3, successfully launching a replacement load of cargo to the station.
The arrival of the three astronauts returns the space station to a full six-member crew for the first time in six weeks.
Kelly and Russia's Mikhail Kornienko are participating in the station's first year-long duration mission.
