A Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying the Soyuz MS-29 crewed spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 19:47 Kazakhstan time on July 14، 2026. On board is an international crew of three، reports infohub.kz.
The crew consists of Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov (commander) and Anna Kikina (flight engineer)، along with NASA astronaut Anil Menon (flight engineer). Menon is making his first flight، while Dubrov and Kikina are heading to orbit for the second time.
The spacecraft reached its target orbit، separated from the rocket's third stage، and deployed its antennas and solar panels without issue. The craft will complete two orbits around Earth and dock with the Prichal module of the Russian segment of the International Space Station. Docking is scheduled for 22:56 Kazakhstan time.
The crew will spend about eight months in orbit and return to Earth in April 2027.
On July 13، NASA Director Jared Isaacman arrived at Baikonur to see off the crew. Isaacman had previously noted that his friend Anil Menon is part of the crew. Isaacman participated in the Polaris Dawn mission in 2024 alongside Menon's wife، Anna. He became head of NASA in December 2025.
The rocket and spacecraft were moved from the assembly and testing building and installed at the launch pad on July 12. After that، specialists conducted final checks of the spacecraft systems and ground equipment.