俄联盟号飞船与国际空间站成功对接

Five, four, three, two, one, zero, and lift off, lift off of Karen Nyberg,Fyodor Yurchikhin and Luca Parmitano on a 6-hour ride to the international space station.

You might have seen launches like this before, but these astronauts took a shortcut to the international space station.

The spacecraft's speed is almost 13,500 miles an hour. It's a journey that normally takes two days in these exhilarating but cramped conditions. This mission used a new orbit around the earth.

All systems are normal. It puts more pressure on the astronaut's bodies, but after just 6 hours, the crew of the Soyuz arrived at their destination

And the hatches between the Soyuz spacecraft and the international space station opening.

These were the first moments of their stay in space.

That was a quick ride to the station. That was pretty fantastic.

They've got a tough act to follow. Commander Chris Hadfield recently brought the wonders of space to the new generation using songs and social media. He used Twitter to wish these astronauts good luck. Before she left, the flight engineer said she was hoping to inspire others.

"I hope they see from, you know looking at my situation that their possibilities are out there. I think some children don't know the possibilities and I think some children may not know what they are capable of."

The crew will now spend 6 months on the space station. They also have Twitter accounts with thousands of followers waiting on the world below.

Steven Douglas, SKY News.