Petaluma-Born Astronaut Arrives At International Space Station

A Russian cosmonaut who caught a U.S. lift to the International Space Station arrived at her new home Thursday for a five-month stay, accompanied by a Japanese astronaut and two from NASA, including the first Native American woman in space who happens to be from Sonoma County.

The SpaceX capsule pulled up to the station a day after launching into orbit. The linkup occurred 260 miles (420 kilometers) above the Atlantic, just off the west coast of Africa.

It was the first time in 20 years that a Russian hitched a ride from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the result of a new agreement reached despite friction over the war in Ukraine.

Cosmonaut Anna Kikina joins two Russians already at the orbiting outpost. She'll live and work on the Russian side until March, before returning to Earth in the same SpaceX capsule.

Riding along with Kikina: U.S. Marine Col. Nicole Mann, a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in Mendocino County, California; U.S. Navy Capt. Josh Cassada; and Japan's Koichi Wakata, the only experienced space flier of the bunch with five missions.

As the capsule closed in, the space station residents promised the new arrivals that their bunks were ready and the outside light was on.

"You guys are the best," replied Mann, the capsule's commander, who was born in Petaluma and graduated from Rancho Cotate High School in 1995.

This is the first spaceflight for Mann, Cassada (the pilot), and Kikina, and the fifth for Wakata. The foursome is assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission. They will serve as mission specialists for their science expedition in microgravity aboard the space station.

"Missions like Crew-5 are proof we are living through a golden era of commercial space exploration," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "It’s a new era powered by the spirit of partnership, fueled by scientific ingenuity, and inspired by the quest for new discoveries. During their stay aboard the International Space Station, Crew-5 will conduct more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations, including studies on printing human organs in space and better understanding heart disease. While our eyes are focused upward on the heavens, let us never forget these missions will also better life here on Earth."

Mann and her crew will replace three Americans and one Italian who will return in their own SpaceX capsule next week after almost half a year up there. Until then, 11 people will share the orbiting lab.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio arrived two weeks ago. He launched on a Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan, kicking off the cash-free crew swapping between NASA and the Russian Space Agency. They agreed to the plan last summer in order to always have an American and Russian at the station.

Until Elon Musk's SpaceX started launching astronauts two years ago, NASA was forced to spend tens of millions of dollars every time an astronaut flew up on a Soyuz.

This marks the sixth SpaceX flight with NASA astronauts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.