Spaceship carrying astronaut Shubhanshu docks with ISS

Crew to conduct 60 experiments – including studies on microalgae

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A US commercial mission carrying astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary docked with the International Space Station on Thursday, marking the first time in decades that these nations have sent crew to space.

Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, lifted off early Wednesday from Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, aboard a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule riding a Falcon 9 rocket.

On-board are pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India; mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary; and Commander Peggy Whitson of the United States, a former Nasa astronaut now with Axiom Space, which organises private space flights.

Capsule named Grace