Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut launched from Kazakhstan on Tuesday, arriving at the International Space Station (ISS) to begin their approximately eight-month mission as part of the station’s 75th crew rotation. The Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 10:47 a.m. local time with Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, alongside NASA astronaut Anil Menon. The spacecraft docked with the ISS roughly three hours later while orbiting over the Mediterranean Sea, joining the station's current crew, which includes three Americans, two Europeans, and two Russians.

The launch was notable for the joint presence of NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and Roscosmos director Dmitry Bakanov at Baikonur, marking the first visit by a NASA chief to the Russian launch site since 2018. This visit comes amid ongoing geopolitical tensions stemming from Russia’s war in Ukraine, tensions that had previously hindered such high-level cooperation since former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson’s tenure. The sustained collaboration on the ISS, now in its 27th year, has continued primarily due to practical dependencies: American-supplied solar panels power the station, while Russian spacecraft provide critical propulsion and orbital maintenance.

Menon, 49, is making his first spaceflight. He has a background as a scholar, military officer, physician, and pilot. His mission comes after a notable connection to commercial spaceflight; Menon's wife, Anna Menon, is a SpaceX engineer, and both flew with Isaacman in 2024 during the Polaris Dawn private spacewalking mission. Dubrov, 48, and Kikina, 41, are both on their second space missions, with Kikina being the only woman currently active among Russia’s 23 cosmonauts. She previously participated in a Russian-American joint flight aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon in 2022, an event that renewed crew exchanges between the US and Russia after a pause.

The continued cooperation between NASA and Roscosmos on the ISS exemplifies a pragmatic relationship maintained despite broader political strains, underpinning the operation of the orbiting laboratory. The new crew is expected to carry out scientific research and station maintenance as part of their extended stay.