"We've completed the transfer into the Soyuz and the leak checks, " Culbertson told Mission Control.

CNN: newcrew

Culbertson isn't the only one aboard the orbiting complex dealing with technical problems.

CNN: New space station chief settles in

Culbertson, Dezhurov and Tyurin officially became residents of Alpha at 3:15 p.m.

CNN: newcrew

Space shuttle Discovery docked with the orbiting outpost Sunday afternoon, bringing up the new crew: U.S. commander Frank Culbertson and Russian flight engineers Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin.

CNN: newcrew

To help Culbertson and his two Russian crewmates, Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin, get familiar with their new job site, NASA scheduled time for the new crew to talk to the departing crew.

CNN: Space station handover ceremony delayed

"They're incredibly organized and it's going to be a lot easier for us than it might have been if they had not taken the time that they have and spent the time showing us things, " Culbertson said.

CNN: Space station handover ceremony delayed

Earlier Thursday, new Alpha commander Frank Culbertson and Russian flight engineers Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin beamed down a message marking the one-thousandth day in space for the first component of the space station, the Russian-built Zarya module.

CNN: Spacewalkers hang experiments on Alpha

"We're here today to wish the international space station some greetings itself because today is the one-thousandth day that the first component of the station has been on orbit , " Culbertson said as he floated in Zarya with Dezhurov and Tyurin.

CNN: Spacewalkers hang experiments on Alpha