Soyuz MS-29 launches NASA and Roscosmos crew to ISS for 8-month mission

A Russian Soyuz rocket successfully launched a new crew to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. The Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft is carrying NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina on a mission expected to last approximately eight months.

The spacecraft lifted off at 10:47 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time and is scheduled to dock with the space station's Russian segment just a few hours later. The trio will join the seven crew members already aboard the orbiting laboratory, forming the station's 75th long-duration expedition.

The launch marked a resumption of crewed flights from a recently repaired launchpad at Baikonur and was attended by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. His presence was noted as the first visit to the cosmodrome by a NASA chief in eight years, highlighting the ongoing operational partnership in space between the United States and Russia. Isaacman met with Roscosmos head Dmitry Bakanov ahead of the launch and, in remarks the previous day, thanked the Russian agency for its professionalism in preparing for the mission.

For Menon, a former SpaceX flight surgeon selected...