Soyuz MS-29 blasts off from Baikonur to ISS

As the countdown began, viewers were treated to a special broadcast featuring athletes and celebrities.

At the scheduled time – 19:47:50 Astana time (19:47:50 UTC) – the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle lifted off from Launch Pad No. 31.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov is the commander of the spacecraft. The crew also includes Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina and NASA astronaut Anil Menon.

For Dubrov and Kikina, this is their second trip to space. During his first expedition, Dubrov spent nearly a year in orbit and performed four spacewalks. Kikina previously reached the ISS aboard a U.S. Crew Dragon spacecraft, with her first mission lasting 157 days.

Anil Menon is making his first journey off Earth. By profession, he is an emergency medicine physician and mechanical engineer. Before joining NASA's astronaut corps, Menon worked as a flight surgeon, providing medical support for ISS expeditions and helping prepare SpaceX's first crewed missions.

The Soyuz MS-29 is following a fast-track, two-orbit rendezvous trajectory. Over the course of several hours, the spacecraft will orbit Earth twice before closing in on the station. Automatic docking with the Prichal module on the Russian segment of the ISS is scheduled for 22:56 Astana time.

Once aboard, the crew will join the participants of Expedition 74 and later continue their work as part of Expedition 75. The mission is set to last 261 days, with a return to Earth expected in spring 2027. Under the Russian program, two spacewalks are planned during this time.

Aboard the ISS, the crew will conduct scientific research and perform station maintenance. The agenda includes growing semiconductor crystals in microgravity, studying blood flow and vascular changes in the human body, conducting ultrasound medical research using artificial intelligence and augmented reality, and bioprinting vascular structures.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman watched the launch from Baikonur. His visit marked the first time in eight years that a NASA chief has traveled to the cosmodrome.

Earlier, Japan successfully landed a test rocket for future reuse.