Three new residents completed the final leg of their pursuit of the International Space Station, with docking to the complex at 2158 GMT (4:58 p.m. EST) Saturday, two days after blastoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz capsule carrying the U.S.-Russian-French crew linked up with the research lab’s Rassvet module.

Near-perfect weather for launching a rocket into space is expected at Cape Canaveral on Saturday when an Atlas 5 rocket is scheduled to fly.

The Air Force will launch a second pair of small security probes 22,300 miles above the Earth using a Delta 4 rocket on Friday to alert ground controllers of impending space collisions and monitor potential meddling with U.S. orbiting assets.