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Kazakhstan Launches NASA Astronaut on Soyuz to ISS

7/15/2026

Summary

Kazakhstan launches Menon

Kazakhstan launched NASA astronaut Anil Menon with Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina aboard Soyuz MS-29 from Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 14 2026.
The spacecraft docked with the ISS’s Prichal module at 1:52 p.m. EDT after a three-hour flight, joining seven residents.
Menon will spend eight months conducting semiconductor crystal growth and bioprinting vascular constructs while testing AR-AI ultrasound diagnostics.
The crew will return to Earth in April 2027, ending the MS-29 expedition.

Summary

Isaacman Visits Baikonur

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flew to Baikonur, first chief visit since 2018, to meet Roscosmos director Dmitry Bakanov.
He also met Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov to discuss ISS cooperation and projects.
The talks continued despite the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, showing United States (U.S.)–Russia ties persist.
Roscosmos seeks a lunar partnership with China because sanctions limit its technology, while the ISS relies on United States (U.S.) power and Russian thrusters.

History

Historical Context

On July 17 1975 the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project docked an American Apollo CSM with Soviet Soyuz 19, uniting three U.S. astronauts and two cosmonauts in a “handshake in space” that marked Cold-War détente. The APAS docking system developed for that mission later powered Shuttle-Mir and ISS links, and on March 2026 Soyuz MS-29 launched from Baikonur with NASA’s Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, reviving the framework.

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Kazakhstan launches Menon

Kazakhstan launched NASA astronaut Anil Menon with Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina aboard Soyuz MS-29 from Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 14 2026.
The spacecraft docked with the ISS’s Prichal module at 1:52 p.m. EDT after a three-hour flight, joining seven residents.
Menon will spend eight months conducting semiconductor crystal growth and bioprinting vascular constructs while testing AR-AI ultrasound diagnostics.
The crew will return to Earth in April 2027, ending the MS-29 expedition.

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