Moscow – It’s about to get a lot more crowded on the International Space Station. A Soyuz spacecraft to launch Wednesday will bring three new crew members to the ISS, doubling the size of the permanent crew.

The Russian Soyuz is to launch at 1034 GMT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying three more astronauts to the ISS. But past flights, they will not be replacing those currently on board, instead they will join three astronauts already there to double the
crew to six.

The expanded crew will not only be the largest ever but also the most international.

The Soyuz is set to dock with the ISS on Friday at 1236 GMT.

Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk and European Space Agency European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne of Belgium will join current ISS residents Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, Michael
Barratt of the United States and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata.

The expansion, after 10 years of ISS construction, will allow crew members to triple the amount of time they devote to science experiments on board. Two Russian spacewalks are scheduled for the crew during June. (dpa)