Crew-5 mission, which includes Russian cosmonaut Kikina, enters ISS

WASHINGTON. Oct 7 (Interfax) - The crew traveling on board the U.S. Crew Dragon-5 spacecraft entered the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, Moscow time, after completing docking at the ISS and opening the hatches, NASA said.

The SpaceX Crew-5 mission consists of NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina. They will stay on board the ISS for 145 days.

The spacecraft docked automatically to the Harmony module of the station's U.S. segment at 5:01 p.m. EDT on Thursday.

On board the ISS, they were welcomed by the station's current crew made up of Roscosmos cosmonauts and astronauts of NASA and the European Space Agency.

It was the first flight by a Roscosmos cosmonaut aboard the SpaceX company's Crew Dragon spacecraft.