US, Russian astronauts launch space communication system | Space News

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman visited the Russian-run Baikonur Cosmodrome to watch the launch.

A joint US-Russian space mission has lifted off from Kazakhstan to the International Space Station (ISS), showing cooperation that has continued despite tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.

The Russian Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft, carrying Russian astronauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina along with NASA colleague Anil Menon, lifted off Tuesday morning from the Russian-operated Baikonur space station in Kazakhstan.

The crew entered a safe orbit and are expected to dock at the ISS, where they will remain for eight months, at ⁠17:56 GMT.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman attended the ceremony, marking the first visit to Baikonur by a NASA official in eight years.

Before the launch, Isaacman met with Dmitry Bakanov, head of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos.

In a meeting with colleagues on Monday, Isaacman thanked Roscosmos for its efforts to prepare for the mission, saying that “the integrated work that has been done over the past few months shows the expertise and commitment of everyone involved”.

This project is the first flight for Menon and the second for Dubrov and Kikina.

The trio will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos astronauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrei Fedyaev.

Once bitter enemies in the space race during the Cold War, Russia and the US cooperate on the space station and other projects. The relationship was marred by conflict when Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in 2022, but Washington and Moscow continue to cooperate, with US and Russian forces flying to each country’s airspace.

Plans for a wider alliance, including possible action in Russia NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration programthey have fallen. As Russia relies heavily on China for energy exports and key technology exports amid Western sanctions, Roscosmos has begun a partnership with China on what is expected to be a lunar mission.