spacetoday.net: Soyuz launches new crew to ISS

Posted: Sun, Jul 19, 2026, 3:02 PM ET (1902 GMT)
A new crew traveled to the International Space Station on a Soyuz launch Tuesday attended by NASA's administrator. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:47 am EDT (1447 GMT), placing the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft into orbit. The spacecraft docked with the ISS three hours later, delivering Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina and NASA astronaut Anil Menon. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman attended the launch, the first agency administrator to be at a Soyuz ISS launch since 2018. He did not disclose any meetings he had with Russian officials, but the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov, said he met with Isaacman and confirmed that Russia would continue ISS operations through the station's scheduled retirement in 2030. He added that NASA and Roscosmos also agreed to continue exchanging seats on Soyuz and commercial crew flights.