The Soyuz is visible from a television camera on the International Space Station as the two crafts prepare to dock Saturday, April 16, 2005. (AP/NASA Photo)

The Soyuz space ship blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)

    MOSCOW, April 17 (Xinhuanet) -- A Russian space ship docked with the International Space Station (ISS) at 0619 Moscow time (0219GMT)Sunday, sending in new Russian-US crew and an Italian astronaut.

    The Soyuz space ship blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday.

    Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and American John Phillips are expected to spend six months on the station.

    Italian Roberto Vittori, from the European Space Agency, was set to return to Earth in 10 days with Russian Salizhan Sharipov and American Leroy Chiao, who have been aboard the ISS since October.

    The new crew's major task will be welcoming the US space shuttle Discovery to the station.

    A key task for Krikalev and Phillips will be to observe the condition of the insulating tiles as the Discovery approaches the ISS, conducting a photo survey of the exterior of the shuttle while it is maneuvering prior to docking. Enditem