Snag delays Space Station arrival

An engine snag has delayed the arrival of a Soyuz spacecraft carrying three astronauts to the International Space Station.

The Russian spacecraft carrying Russians Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev and American Steve Swanson launched successfully into orbit from Kazakhstan last night and was expected to reach the space station in six hours.

But Nasa said the arrival was delayed because an engine burn “did not occur as planned”.

The US space agency says the crew is in good spirits and is in no danger, but will have to wait until tomorrow to arrive at the space station.

Russian spacecraft used to routinely travel two days to reach the orbiting laboratory before last year.