Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft blasts off to International Space Station

Russia's Soyuz MS-29 crewed spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:48 p.m. Moscow time (1448 GMT) on Tuesday, carrying two Russian cosmonauts and one US astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS).

The spacecraft was launched aboard a Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket and was expected to dock automatically with the ISS after a short orbital flight. The mission marks the beginning of Expedition 75 to the orbiting laboratory. Following the arrival of the new crew, part of the Expedition 74 crew is scheduled to return to Earth.

The Soyuz MS-29 crew consists of Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, together with NASA astronaut Anil Menon. According to the mission plan, the three crew members will spend approximately 261 days aboard the ISS, carrying out scientific research, technology demonstrations and routine station maintenance.

Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos said the two Russian cosmonauts are expected to conduct 38 scientific experiments during the mission and perform two spacewalks from the Russian segment of the ISS to support maintenance and technical operations.

The launch was attended by Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Bakanov and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. It marked the first visit by a NASA administrator to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in eight years.

In July 2022, Roscosmos and NASA signed a seat-exchange agreement that allows Russian cosmonauts to fly aboard US spacecraft and NASA astronauts to travel on Russian Soyuz missions. The arrangement is intended to ensure a continuous presence of both Russian and US crew members on their respective segments of the ISS and to support the station's safe and uninterrupted operation.

Soyuz MS-29 continues that cooperation framework, underscoring the role of the ISS as one of the few remaining areas of sustained international collaboration in human spaceflight.