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Soyuz MS-28 lifts off, docks at ISS

Expedition 74 launched to the International Space Station, ISS, on Nov. 27, 2025. Soyuz MS-28, with a crew of three, docked at the station in slightly more than three hours after liftoff from Baikonur and remain at the outpost for 242 days until July 2026, extending regular Russian shifts at the ISS from six to eight months.

Previous mission: Soyuz MS-27

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Roskosmos swaps ships for the Soyuz MS-28 mission

Sergei Kud'-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev practice inside the Soyuz simulator for the upcoming ISS mission, scheduled for launch in November 2025.

The early in the launch campaign for Expedition 74 to the International Space Station, ISS, program managers had to replace the Soyuz vehicle originally assigned to the flight, likely due to the damage inflicted on the ship's critical thermal shield during a botched test.

The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, carrying two Russian cosmonauts and a US astronaut to the International Space Station, ISS, was set for launch from Cosmodrome Baikonur in Kazakhstan on Nov. 27, 2025.

On Aug. 21, 2024, Roskosmos announced that Russian cosmonauts Sergei Kud'-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Oleg Platonov had been assigned to the Soyuz MS-28 crew. Around that time, the launch of Soyuz MS-28 was expected on Oct. 25, 2025, but before the end of 2024, the mission shifted to Nov. 27, 2025. By early 2025, NASA astronaut Christopher Williams replaced Platonov in the Soyuz MS-28 crew based on the third extension of the agreement on the ISS exchange flights between the US space agency and Roskosmos.

The mission was originally supposed to use Soyuz-MS vehicle No. 759, which was the next on the assembly line at RKK Energia's ZEM factory in Korolev, near Moscow.

However, during routine post-production tests at ZEM's Checkout and Test Facility, KIS, Vehicle No. 759 reportedly suffered major damage to its thermal protection system, which could not be repaired in time for the Expedition 74 launch at the end of 2025. According to one source, the ship's main thermal control heat shield, attached to the base of the Descent Module, SA, (INSIDER CONTENT) was accidentally jettisoned, perhaps by a stray signal triggering the pyrotechnic bolts, connecting the Frisbee-shaped structure to the capsule. According to another source, the thermal layers of the shield peeled off, as a result of botched thermal tests.

In any case, as of late October 2025, neither Roskosmos nor the official media had confirmed the fact of an incident, but the photos of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft undergoing processing in Baikonur, which accompanied press-releases about the launch campaign, showed No. 753 on the flight-worthy ship.

That particular Soyuz-MS, along with Vehicle No. 752, was initially reserved for "tourist" missions, but after the last hopes for commercialization of the Russian space flight had evaporated due to the quagmire in Ukraine, Roskosmos was free to press Vehicle No. 753 back into routine service for the ISS. The incident with Vehicle No. 759 provided an opportunity to use the mothballed ship, before some of its critical systems would go beyond warranty.

After repairs, Vehicle No. 759 was re-assigned for the Soyuz MS-29 mission in mid-2026, with the delivery to Baikonur on Nov. 7, 2025.

Launch campaign

Soyuz MS-28 is being prepared for integration with its payload fairing on Nov. 19, 2025.

The active preparations for launch started in Baikonur in early October 2025, when specialists completed the testing of the Kurs-NA rendezvous system in the anechoic facility of the Spacecraft Processing Building at Site 254 in Baikonur. Around Oct. 22, 2025, the spacecraft was placed into the vacuum chamber for a nearly week-long search for potential air leaks. The tests were declared completed on October 27, when the vehicle was returned back to its processing site for tests of the propulsion system automatics (INSIDER CONTENT), flight control computers, radio systems and the loading of cooling fluid into the manifolds of the thermal control system (INSIDER CONTENT).

In the meantime, the Soyuz-2-1a launch vehicle and payload fairing for the mission were reported arriving by rail at Site 112 in Baikonur on Oct. 22, 2025. On November 4, specialists mounted four boosters of the first stage on the second (core) stage in preparation for autonomous and integrated tests of the launch vehicle.

On Nov. 6, 2025, a commission at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center formally approved the primary and back-up crews for the final phase of preparation for ISS Expedition 74. Around the same time, specialists in Baikonur completed testing of solar panels on Soyuz MS-28.

The primary and backup crews for the Soyuz MS-28 mission arrived at Baikonur on Nov. 11, 2025.

The next day, both crews participated in traditional "fit checks" inside the flight-worthy Soyuz MS-28 which was undergoing the final processing at Site 254. Assisted by the processing team, the cosmonauts and astronauts donned their pressure-safety suits and then boarded the crew vehicle to familiarize themselves with the internal setup of the Habitation Module and the Descent Module. They also checked various controls and equipment inside the vehicle.

The spacecraft then entered final processing, including weighting and preparation for the installation of deliverable cargo. On Nov. 17, 2025, Soyuz MS-28 was integrated with the launch vehicle adapter, PKhO, serving as an interface with the Soyuz-2-1a launch vehicle. A total of 125 kilograms of cargo was then loaded into the spacecraft. They included materials for scientific experiments, including Lazma, Tsitomekhanarium, Fagen, Ekon-M, Vzaimodeistvie-2, Kaskad and MSK-2.

On Nov. 19, 2025, specialists conducted traditional visual inspection of the spacecraft, after which it was lowered into horizontal position and rolled inside its protecting fairing assembly. The resulting payload section was then lifted back into a vertical position and put back into the processing stand. In that position, the spacecraft was revisited by primary and back-up crews on Nov. 21, 2025, for the last "fit check," before one of the trios would board it on the launch pad. On the same day, the payload section was loaded on a railway trailer and shipped to the vehicle assembly building at Site 31.

On November 22, at Site 31, specialists at RKK Energia and Roskosmos integrated the payload section with its Soyuz-2-1a rocket. The subsequent meeting of the technical management and the State Comission cleared the vehicle for rollout to the launch pad. The State Commission also approved the two-orbit rendezvous scenario with the station.

The launch vehicle with the spacecraft was rolled out to the launch pad on the morning of Nov. 24, 2025.

In anticipation of the Soyuz MS-28 arrival, the Cygnus NG-23 cargo ship was undocked from the nadir (Earth-facing) port of the Unity (Node 1) module by the Canadarm on Nov. 24, 2025, to provide a safe clearance for solar arrays on Soyuz during its final approach. Following the Soyuz MS-28 docking, the Cygnus was re-docked to the same location, bringing the number of spacecraft docked at the ISS to eight and occupying all its docking ports for the first time in the history of the project.

Soyuz MS-28 lifts off

A Soyuz-2-1a rocket with the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft lifted off as scheduled on Nov. 27, 2025, at 12:27:57 Moscow Time (4:27 a.m. EDT) from Site 31 in Baikonur. Moments later, the mobile service tower, KO, collapsed into the flame trench below the pad, taking the facility out of service.

In the meantime, propelled by the simultaneous thrust of the four engines of the first stage and the single engine of the second stage, the vehicle headed almost exactly east to align its ascent trajectory with an orbital plane inclined 51.6 degrees toward the Equator. Slightly less than two minutes into the flight, at an altitude of around 45 kilometers and a velocity of 1.75 kilometers per second, the ship's main emergency escape rocket jettisoned, followed by the separation of the first stage one second later. The emergency escape rocket and the four boosters of the first stage were expected to impact the ground 330 and 350 kilometers downrange from the launch site respectively.

Around 40 seconds after the first stage separation, as the vehicle exited the dense atmosphere at an altitude of 79 kilometers and a velocity of 2.2 kilometers per second, the payload fairing protecting the spacecraft split into two halves and fell away. They were projected to fall 500 kilometers downrange from the launch site.

In the meantime, the second (core) stage of the rocket continued firing until 4.8 minutes into the flight (L+287.70 seconds). Moments before the second stage completed its work, the four-chamber engine of the third stage ignited, firing through the lattice structure connecting the two stages. The second stage then shot down its engine and separated. Moments after the separation of the core booster at an altitude of 157 kilometers and a velocity of 3.8 kilometers per second, the aft skirt of the third stage split into three segments and separated as well. The second-stage booster and the sections of the aft skirt were projected to impact the ground 1,550 and 1,570 kilometers downrange from the launch site respectively.

Following the 8-minute 49-second climb to orbit, the propulsion system of the third stage was cut off, releasing Soyuz MS-28 into an initial orbit.

Soyuz MS-28 rendezvous and docking

The launch on Nov. 27, 2025, enabled Soyuz MS-28 to enter orbit just around 14 degrees in phasing angle away from the station. In turn, it made it possible to rendezvous and dock with the Rassvet module (MIM1), a part of the Russian ISS Segment, on the day of the launch, at 15:38:29 Moscow Time (7:38 a.m. EST), after around two orbits in the autonomous flight. At the time of the Soyuz MS-28 liftoff, the ISS headed toward Baikonur 180 kilometers away in its ground track, but it overtook the crew vehicle and it was 1,025 miles ahead of it at the time the ship entered orbit, according to NASA.

Shortly after entering the initial orbit, (just after 4 a.m. Houston Time (13:00 Moscow Time), according to NASA), Soyuz MS-28 was scheduled to perform a 22-meter-per-second orbit-correction maneuver, just 17.7 minutes before the start of the autonomous rendezvous between the crew vehicle and the station.

As usual, the final autonomous rendezvous process included six firings of the propulsion system (INSIDER CONTENT), which had the following timeline during the Soyuz MS-28 mission:

On Nov. 27, 2025, the Russian mission control in Korolev listed the followed timeline for the autonomous rendezvous of Soyuz MS-28:

• 13:19:36 Moscow Time: Beginning of autonomous rendezvous with the ISS;
• 14:09:36 Moscow Time: Activation of the Kurs rendezvous system (INSIDER CONTENT) aboard the Zvezda Service Module, SM;
• 14:10:36 Moscow Time: Activation of the Kurs rendezvous system aboard Soyuz MS-28;
• 15:18 — 15:24 Moscow Time: Fly-around of the station (50 degrees);
• 15:24 — 15:27 Moscow Time: Station-keeping of the spacecraft near ISS before final approach;
• 15:27 – 15:38 Moscow Time: Final approach to the Rassvet module (MIM1);
• 15:38:30 Moscow Time: Contact.

As often, the actual final approach was executed a few minutes ahead schedule and, according to NASA, Soyuz MS-28 made a contact with the ISS at 17:34 a.m. EST (15:34 Moscow Time). The Soyuz hatch into the station was opened 10:16 a.m. EST on Nov. 27, 2025, bringing the total number of crew members aboard the ISS to 10.

The arrival of the fresh crew also paved the way to final preparations for the landing of the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft, scheduled for Dec. 9, 2025, which would also mark the start of Expedition 74 aboard the station.

Soyuz MS-28 crew members:

This page is maintained by Anatoly Zak; last update: December 3, 2025

Page editor: Alain Chabot; last edit: October 30, 2025

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Soyuz MS-28 during preparations for anechoic chamber tests inside the spacecraft processing building at Site 254 in Baikonur. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

Soyuz MS-28 (right) and its payload fairing during preparations inside the spacecraft processing building at Site 254 in Baikonur. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

Initial assembly of the Soyuz-2-1a rocket for the Soyuz MS-28 mission around Nov. 4, 2025. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

Testing of solar panels aboard Soyuz MS-28 on Nov. 6, 2025. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

A primary crew arrives at Baikonur on Nov. 11, 2025. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

Members of the Soyuz MS-28 crew prepare for fit checks inside the flight-worthy spacecraft on Nov. 12, 2025. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

Members of the Soyuz MS-28 crew work inside the Habitation Module, BO, on Nov. 12, 2025. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

Members of the Soyuz MS-28 crew work inside the Descent Module, SA, during fit checks on Nov. 12, 2025. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

A Soyuz-2-1a rocket with the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft rolls out from vehicle assembly building on its way to the launch pad. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

Soyuz MS-28 lifts off. Click to enlarge.

The Soyuz MS-28 docks at the Rassvet module on Nov. 27, 2025. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA