NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and 2 cosmonauts launched to International Space Station

NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, a veteran Russian commander and a rookie cosmonaut co-pilot rocketed away from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Friday and docked at the International Space Station three hours later, clearing the way for three other crew members to return to Earth after a full year in orbit.

“It’s incredible to be here. It was a beautiful launch, it was a beautiful flight,” O’Hara said during a brief welcome-aboard ceremony. “The only thing better than seeing the Earth for the first time and seeing space station for the first time was coming through the hatch and seeing…