High-Flying Arrival: New Station Crew To Dock Tonight

An American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts are zooming through low Earth orbit tonight, heading toward a high-flying arrival at the International Space Station.

Veteran NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and his two crewmates -- Alexander Kalery and Oleg Skripochka -- are scheduled to dock at the station at 8:01 p.m. Hatches between their Soyuz spaceship and the station are slated to open at 11:01 p.m.

You can watch the docking and the welcome ceremony live here in The Flame Trench. Click the NASA TV box on the right to launch our NASA TV viewer and live coverage beginning at 7:15 p.m.

Kelly and his twin brother Mark are destined to become the first siblings to meet in orbit. Mark Kelly is the commander of NASA's last currently scheduled shuttle mission, which is slated to launch toward the station on Feb. 27. One extra shuttle mission might be flown next June if Congress approves funding for the flight.

ABOUT THE IMAGE: Click to enlarge the Associated Press image of the next International Space Station crew as they prepared to launch Thursday from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. From left to right ar Scott Kelly, Alexander Kalery and Oleg Skripochka.