U.S.-Russian crew docks at space station after Baikonur launch
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina reached the ISS for an eight-month mission.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
2 min read
A U.S.-Russian crew reached the International Space Station on Tuesday after launching from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, the Associated Press reported. The flight underscored that Washington and Moscow are still working together in orbit even as relations remain strained over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina launched at 7:47 p.m. local time aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft, according to AP. The capsule docked with the station about three hours later using its automatic system.
The mission is scheduled to last eight months, AP reported. It is Menon’s first trip to space, while Dubrov and Kikina have each flown before.
NASA chief attends launch
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman was at Baikonur for the launch, AP reported, making him the first NASA chief to visit the cosmodrome in eight years. Baikonur is leased by Russia from Kazakhstan and remains a central launch site for Russian crewed missions.
Before liftoff, Isaacman met with Dmitry Bakanov, the head of Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos, according to AP. During a meeting with the crew on Monday, Isaacman thanked Roscosmos for its work preparing the mission and praised the teams involved in the joint effort.
Isaacman also met Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, AP reported. Manturov’s office said the two discussed possible cooperation on the International Space Station and other space projects.
Who is on the station
Menon, Dubrov and Kikina are joining a multinational crew already aboard the station, according to AP. The crew includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrei Fedyaev.
The United States and Russia were Cold War competitors in space, but AP noted that the two countries later built a working partnership around the International Space Station. That partnership has continued through shared crew transportation, with Americans and Russians flying on each country’s spacecraft.
AP reported that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine damaged broader space ties between Moscow and Washington. Even so, the station program has remained one of the few areas where the two governments continue direct technical cooperation.
Some plans for wider collaboration have collapsed, according to AP, including possible Russian participation in NASA’s Artemis lunar research program. AP reported that Roscosmos has instead begun working with China on a future lunar mission as Russia has become more dependent on China for energy exports and technology imports under Western sanctions.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.