Int'l crew arrive at space station

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (AFP): Four astronauts docked at the International Space Station on Saturday for a months-long research mission, replacing a crew forced to return to Earth early over a medical issue.

The US space agency's Crew-12 arrived at the orbiting laboratory after a journey of about 34 hours that started with blastoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

"We have bridged the legacy of humankind's continuous presence in space spanning more than 25 years at this very site," American astronaut Jessica Meir said after docking at the ISS.

"As we look back at Earth from these windows, we are reminded that cooperation is not just possible, it is essential. Up here, there are no borders and hope is universal."

Other members of Crew-12 are American Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

The foursome are replacing Crew-11, which returned to Earth in January a month earlier than planned in the first medical evacuation in the space station's history. The ISS, which orbits 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth, has since been staffed by a skeleton crew of three.