A Russian Soyuz TMA-06M spaceship with the new crew of the International Space Station (ISS), which took off from Baikonur Cosmodrome on Tuesday, docked with the station successfully on Thursday, Russia's Flight Control Center (TsUP) said.

"The docking went ahead by command from Earth at the designated time in automatic regime," a source from the center in the city of Korolyov near Moscow told RIA Novosti.

The cosmonauts will open the door between the craft and the station between 7:15 and 7:40 p.m. Moscow time, allowing the new crew to meet their colleagues.

The new crew consists of Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Yevgeny Tarelkin and also NASA astronaut Kevin Ford.The new crew will undertake experiments on board, as well as handling several cargo craft, in particular the undocking of the American Dragon privately-built ship on October 28, and a Russian Progress ship on October 31.

Novitsky, Tarelkin and Ford have said previously they intend to maintain an orbital blog, as well as sending photos of the Earth from the ISS in their spare time.

Ford also said previously that he has brought with him 32 goldfish for experiments to be performed by Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, as well as a small electronic keyboard for amusement.

This is the first mission for Novitsky and Tarelkin, while Ford flew to the ISS on the US Space Shuttle in 2009.

The ISS is currently manned by Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko, US astronaut Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihido Hoshide.