Russia launched three crew members to the International Space Station early Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, marking the return of crewed missions from a recently repaired launchpad, with rare high-level visits by NASA and Roscosmos officials.
NASA astronaut Anil Menon, along with Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, took off aboard Russia’s Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft at 10:47 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (2:47 p.m. GMT). They are heading to the ISS for an approximately eight-month stay as the 75th rotation crew.
Their arrival at the space station was just over three hours later while orbiting over the Mediterranean Sea, where they joined three American astronauts, two Europeans, and two Russians already on board.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman visited Baikonur to meet with Roscosmos Director Dmitry Bakanov and observe the launch—his first visit to Russia’s launch site since 2018. This visit comes amid ongoing tensions over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which had previously limited high-level interactions, including the absence of former NASA chief Bill Nelson.
The current mission is Menon’s first spaceflight; he is 49 years old. Isaacman, a private billionaire astronaut, flew on a SpaceX capsule in 2024 with Menon’s wife, Anna Menon, a SpaceX engineer, and two others during the Polaris Dawn mission—a private spacewalking expedition financed by Isaacman.
“Anil has spent his entire life preparing for this moment,” Isaacman tweeted afterward. “He is a scholar, military officer, physician, pilot, husband, father, and will undoubtedly become one of America’s great astronauts.”
For Dubrov, aged 48, and Kikina, 41—the only woman among Russia’s 23 active cosmonauts—this marks their second spaceflight. Kikina previously flew on a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission to the ISS in October 2022, helping to revive US-Russian astronaut collaborations.
The long-standing partnership between NASA and Roscosmos, centered on the ISS, has endured geopolitical disputes, including Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. This cooperation is driven largely by technical needs: US solar panels supply power to the station, and Russian thrusters help maintain its orbit.
Despite escalating militarization of Earth’s orbit, both agencies regard the ISS as vital for their human spaceflight programs. However, aging issues such as air leaks have occasionally strained relations, with disagreements over how to locate and repair leaks.
Recently, NASA instructed its astronauts to prepare for potential evacuation due to disagreements with Russia over repair procedures for one such leak. Concerns arose when a Russian cosmonaut planned to use a saw to access a compartment believed to contain the leak source, prompting safety concerns among NASA officials.
The health and future of the ISS, which is expected to be operational until around 2030, likely featured in discussions between Isaacman and Russian space officials. A video shared by Roscosmos shows Isaacman in talks with Bakanov, surrounded by senior Russian space officials.
Neither NASA nor Roscosmos responded immediately to requests for comment regarding the recent meetings.
Bakanov visited Florida last summer to observe a joint US-Russian astronaut launch aboard a SpaceX capsule. He also met with acting NASA Chief Sean Duffy to discuss the ISS and lunar collaboration, though no new agreements resulted.
The last Russian crew launch from Baikonur’s Site 31 resulted in significant damage to the original launchpad, temporarily halting Russian crewed launches. Russia resumed launches from that site in March with an uncrewed cargo mission to the ISS.