The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad, Saturday, July 11, 2026, at Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
The Soyuz rocket is raised into position at the Site 31 launch pad of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (Bill Ingalls)
In this photo taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation, the Soyuz-2.1 rocket booster with Soyuz MS-29 space ship carrying NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off in Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Roscosmos space corporation, via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation, the Soyuz-2.1 rocket booster with Soyuz MS-29 space ship carrying NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off in Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Roscosmos space corporation, via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation, the Soyuz-2.1 rocket booster with Soyuz MS-29 space ship carrying NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off in Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Roscosmos space corporation, via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation, the Soyuz-2.1 rocket booster with Soyuz MS-29 space ship carrying NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off in Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Roscosmos space corporation, via AP)
Expedition 75 Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, top, NASA astronaut Anil Menon, middle, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov, bottom, wave farewell prior to boarding the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft for launch, Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
The Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station with Expedition 75 crew members: NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina onboard, Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by Roscosmos space corporation, the Soyuz-2.1 rocket booster with Soyuz MS-29 space ship carrying NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off in Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Roscosmos space corporation, via AP)
A Soyuz rocket launches to the International Space Station carrying Expedition 75 crewmembers, NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
MOSCOW (AP) — A U.S.-Russian space crew arrived Tuesday at the International Space Station after launching from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Russian crewmates Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina lifted off as scheduled at 7:47 p.m. (10:47 a.m. EDT, 1447 GMT) aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 for an eight-month stint on the orbiting outpost. Their spacecraft docked smoothly at the station in automatic mode about three hours after the launch.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman attended the launch, the first visit to Baikonur by a NASA chief in eight years that highlighted the ongoing cooperation in orbit between Moscow and Washington, despite tensions over Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
Before the launch, Isaacman met with the head of Russia's state corporation Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov. Speaking during Monday’s meeting with the crew, Isaacman thanked Roscosmos for its efforts to prepare for the mission, saying that “the integrated work performed over the past several months reflects the professionalism and dedication of everyone involved.”
Article continues after sponsor message
Isaacman also had a meeting with Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. Manturov's office said they discussed prospective cooperation on the International Space Station and other projects.
The mission is Menon’s first space flight and the second for Dubrov and Kikina.
The trio will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrei Fedyaev.
Once bitter rivals in the space race during the Cold War, Russia and the U.S. cooperate on the space station and other projects. That relationship was marred by tensions after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, but Washington and Moscow have continued to work together, with U.S. and Russian crews flying to the orbiting outpost on each country’s spacecraft.
Plans for broader cooperation, including possible Russian involvement in NASA’s Artemis program of lunar research, have fallen apart. As Russia has become increasingly reliant on China for its energy exports and imports of key technology amid Western sanctions, Roscosmos has started cooperation with China on its prospective lunar mission.
More like this:
