Amidst the crisis, the cosmonauts found a unique way to cope with the stress. Russian space traditions included bringing cognac aboard for long-duration missions.

Russian cosmonauts drank alcohol hours after a near-disaster on Mir space station

<p>Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut docked with the&nbsp;International Space Station (ISS) on Friday (September 15), hours after setting off for the journey from Earth.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara successfully lifted off for the ISS aboard the&nbsp;Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft, from the&nbsp;Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, earlier in the day.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Three hours later, the crew docked at the ISS, according to the Russian space agency.&nbsp;The first to come aboard the ISS was O’Hara followed by Chub and Kononenko. The three new entrants were received by&nbsp;cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin and astronaut Frank Rubio who opened the hatch.&nbsp;</p>

<p>After entering the Soviet module, they joined&nbsp;NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli,&nbsp;Russian&nbsp; cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, Denmark's Andreas Mogensen and Japan's Satoshi Furukawa for the mission’s welcoming remarks.&nbsp;</p>

<p>While&nbsp;Kononenko is a veteran of space, having clocked&nbsp;736 days in orbit across four different ISS missions, his partners&nbsp;O'Hara and Chub are spaceflight rookies.&nbsp;During his yearlong stint at the ISS, Kononenko is expected to break the all-time record for most time spent in space, 878 days, held by fellow cosmonaut Gennady Padalka.</p>

<p>While the next batch arrived, cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin and NASA's Frank Rubio will return to Earth, aboard&nbsp;a Soyuz on September 27. Notably, Rubio will have spent 371 continuous days in space by that time, a record for an American astronaut.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/spacex-launches-truly-international-astronaut-team-on-crew-7-flight-to-space-station-for-nasa-629501"><strong>Watch |&nbsp;SpaceX launches truly international astronaut team on Crew-7 flight to space station for NASA</strong></a></p>

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<h2><strong>Space&nbsp;still bridging gap between Russia &amp; USA</strong></h2>

<p>Despite heightened tension between the two countries due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, space remains the only frontier where the two superpowers are still collaborating.</p>

<p>In the run-up to the mission,&nbsp;Kononenko reflected on the growing division between Washington and Moscow due to the war but said "unlike Earth"&nbsp;cosmonauts and astronauts took care of each other in space.</p>

<p>"We hear each other there, and we understand each other, and we are very sensitive to our relationships.&nbsp;We always take care of each other," he said during a pre-flight press conference.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/spacex-sends-first-saudi-woman-astronaut-to-space-will-reach-iss-soon-595032"><strong>Also read |&nbsp;SpaceX sends first Saudi woman astronaut to space</strong></a></p>

<p>Moscow, reeling from the disappointment of the crash of the Luna-25 lunar probe, will take momentarily solace in the achievements of&nbsp;Kononenko.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em><br />
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<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE:&nbsp;</strong></p>

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Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday (September 15), hours after setting off for the journey from Earth.

Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday (September 15), hours after setting off for the journey from Earth. Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara successfully lifted off for the ISS aboard the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft, from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, earlier in the day. Three hours later, the crew docked at the ISS, according to the Russian space agency. The first to come aboard the ISS was O’Hara followed by Chub and Kononenko. The three new entrants were received by cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin and astronaut Frank Rubio who opened the hatch. After entering the Soviet module, they joined NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli, Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, Denmark's Andreas Mogensen and Japan's Satoshi Furukawa for the mission’s welcoming remarks. While Kononenko is a veteran of space, having clocked 736 days in orbit across four different ISS missions, his partners O'Hara and Chub are spaceflight rookies. During his yearlong stint at the ISS, Kononenko is expected to break the all-time record for most time spent in space, 878 days, held by fellow cosmonaut Gennady Padalka. While the next batch arrived, cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin and NASA's Frank Rubio will return to Earth, aboard a Soyuz on September 27. Notably, Rubio will have spent 371 continuous days in space by that time, a record for an American astronaut. Watch | SpaceX launches truly international astronaut team on Crew-7 flight to space station for NASA × Space still bridging gap between Russia & USA Despite heightened tension between the two countries due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, space remains the only frontier where the two superpowers are still collaborating. In the run-up to the mission, Kononenko reflected on the growing division between Washington and Moscow due to the war but said "unlike Earth" cosmonauts and astronauts took care of each other in space. "We hear each other there, and we understand each other, and we are very sensitive to our relationships. We always take care of each other," he said during a pre-flight press conference. Also read | SpaceX sends first Saudi woman astronaut to space Moscow, reeling from the disappointment of the crash of the Luna-25 lunar probe, will take momentarily solace in the achievements of Kononenko. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts arrive at the ISS together despite Ukraine war tensions

Two Russian astronauts ventured outside the International Space Station on April 18 for a spacewalk to install a control panel for a 37-foot-long robotic arm.

Russian astronauts take a spacewalk to install robotic arm controls on ISS