O’Hara praised the station’s “legacy” and said it was bringing countries closer together.
“I’m excited to board the ship and see the crewmates who are waiting for us,” he said.
Kononenko, 59, and Chubb, 39, were to spend a year on the ISS, while O’Hara, 40, was to spend six months there. This was the first mission in space for both O’Hara and Chubb.
Chubb said that traveling to space was his “childhood dream” and that he had dedicated “his entire life” to reaching that goal.
The trio take over from Russians Dmitry Petelin and Sergei Prokopyev, as well as NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, who spent a year on the ISS.
While the trio were initially scheduled to return in March, their mission had to be postponed after their ship, Soyuz MS-22, suffered a coolant leak following damage from a suspected small meteorite.