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Soyuz MS-29 lifts off

The only Russian crew launch in 2026 lifted off from Baikonur on July 14, delivering two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut to the International Space Station for a nearly nine-month shift covering the end of Expedition 74 and the entire Expedition 75, which should last until April 2027, and would be followed by two crew launches that year.

Previous mission: Soyuz MS-28

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Soyuz MS-29 crew and flight program

On Aug. 21, 2024, Roskosmos announced that Russian cosmonauts Petr Dubrov, Sergei Korsakov and Anna Kikina had been appointed to the Soyuz MS-29 crew. By February 2025, Korsakov was re-assigned to a US vehicle, while NASA astronaut Anil Menon Samoilenko joined the Soyuz MS-29 crew under an agreement about routine crew member exchanges between Roskosmos and the US space agency.

With the reduction of Soyuz launches to the ISS to 1.5 per year and the respective extension of Russian ISS expeditions, the launch of Soyuz MS-29 was delayed from July 2026 to Aug. 27, 2026, but by the middle of 2025, the launch date was advanced to June 15. By October 2025, the launch slipped to July 14, 2026. As of early 2026, the mission was expected to last 261 days, landing on April 1, 2027.

Soyuz MS-29 launch campaign

Soyuz MS-29 during radio tests at the end of May 2026.

The spacecraft for the mission (Production No. 759) was reported delivered to Baikonur on Nov. 7, 2025. In the last days of May 2026, Roskosmos announced the start of the Soyuz MS-29 launch campaign with the test of the ship's radio systems in the anechoic chamber at Site 254, followed by air leak tests in the vacuum chamber at the same facility.

On June 9, 2026, the Chief Medical Commission at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center formally cleared the Russian members of the prime Soyuz MS-29 crew Petr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, as well as their backups Dmitry Petelin and Konstantin Borisov for flight.

On June 23, 2026, specialists from RKK Energia and KTs Yuzhny conducted routine tests of the solar arrays on Soyuz MS-29 whie it was undergoing preparations at Site 254.

The irreversible operations with the spacecraft, including loading of propellant components and pressurized gases were conducted from June 30 to July 3, 2026. The vehicle was then returned to Site 254 for final processing.

The primary and back-up crews of the Soyuz MS-29 mission departed Star City for Baikonur on June 29, 2026. The next day, both crews participated in the "fit" tests at Site 254, which included donning of their Sokol-KV pressure-safety suits, as well as boarding their spacecraft.

On July 6, Soyuz MS-29 was integrated with its launch vehicle adapter serving as an interface with the Soyuz-2-1a rocket. The next day, specialists in Baikonur conducted a traditional final inspection of the spacecraft, after which it was lowered into horizontal position and rolled inside its fairing.

On July 9, the primary and back-up crews sat inside the fully prepared Soyuz MS-29 to familiarize themselves with the flight-worthy vehicle.

After final checks, the payload section with Soyuz MS-29 was then transported from the Spacecraft Processing Facility at Site 254 to the Rocket Assembly Building at Site 31, where it was integrated with its Soyuz-2-1a launch vehicle.

The integration of the rocket was completed on July 10, 2026, and the vehicle was cleared for rollout to the launch pad at Site 31 on the morning of July 11.

For the first time since 2018, a NASA Administrator traveled to Kazakhstan to attend the launch. Jared Isaacman was expected to have talks with his Russian counterpart, Roskosmos head Dmitry Bakanov.

Launch profile

A Soyuz-2-1a rocket with the Soyuz MS-29 lifted off as scheduled on July 14, 2026, at 17:47:43 Moscow Time (10:47 a.m. EDT) from Site 31 in Baikonur. (It will be 19:47 local time in Kazakhstan).

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 at 17:49:41 Moscow Time, or 119 seconds after liftoff (L+119 seconds). 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 at L+153.98 seconds (17:50:17 Moscow Time). 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. 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 shut down its engine and separated at L+287.70 seconds (17:52:31 Moscow Time).

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 at L+296.74 seconds. 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 an 8-minute 49-second climb to orbit, the propulsion system of the third stage was cut off (at L+526.33 seconds), releasing Soyuz MS-29 into an initial orbit at 17:56:33 Moscow Time. Its antennas and solar panels (INSIDER CONTENT) were scheduled to be deployed between 17:57 and 17:58 Moscow Time.

Soyuz MS-29 rendezvous and docking profile

At the time of the launch on July 14, 2026, the ISS was predicted to be 286 miles behind the spacecraft in a 418.243 by 435.405-kilometer orbit and it flew over Baikonur around 28 seconds after the Soyuz MS-29 liftoff, according to NASA. The station actually overtaken the crew vehicle by the time it had entered orbit. Soyuz MS-29 targeted the 242.0 by 200.0-kilometer initial orbit with an inclination 51.67 degrees toward the Equator.

That setup would enable the crew vehicle to fly a two-orbit, three-hour rendezvous profile with the ISS.

According to the Russian mission control, shortly after reaching orbit, between 18:02 and 18:09 Moscow Time, Soyuz MS-29 was scheduled to perform tests of the Kurs rendezvous system and the Motion Control and Navigation System, SUDN. Then, between 18:11 and 18:14 Moscow Time, the ship's docking mechanism was expected to extend its probe into the operational position.

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-29 mission:

On July 14, 2026, the Russian mission control in Korolev listed the followed timeline for the autonomous rendezvous of Soyuz MS-29:

• 18:34:12 Moscow Time: Beginning of autonomous rendezvous with the ISS;
• 19:23:02 Moscow Time: Activation of the Kurs rendezvous system (INSIDER CONTENT) aboard the Zvezda Service Module, SM;
• 19:24:02 Moscow Time: Activation of the Kurs rendezvous system aboard Soyuz MS-29;
• 20:36 — 20:43 Moscow Time: Fly-around of the station (54.5 degrees);
• 20:43 — 20:45 Moscow Time: Station-keeping of the spacecraft near ISS before final approach;
• 20:45 – 20:56 Moscow Time: Final approach to the Rassvet module (MIM1);
• 20:56:11 Moscow Time: Contact.

Just ahead of the final approach, the spacecraft completed a 54.5-degree flyaround of the station, starting at a distance of around 400 meters to align itself with its destination port on the ISS at around 20:36 Moscow Time. The spacecraft also performed a roll maneuver for a correct attitude for docking. The flyaround was to follow with a short period of station keeping giving mission control time to check all systems before committing to docking. At around 20:44 Moscow Time, mission control cleared the vehicle for the final approach.

Soyuz MS-29 docked at the nadir (Earth-facing) port of the Prichal Node Module, UM, a part of the Russian ISS Segment at 20:52 Moscow Time (1:52 p.m. EDT) on the day of the launch. The hatches between the newly arrived spacecraft and the station were opened at around 4:30 p.m. EDT (23:30 Moscow Time) on July 14, 2026.

On the station, the three-member Soyuz MS-29 crew joined a seven-member team, including NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roskosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud'-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrei Fedyaev. The newly arrived crew will replace Kud'-Sverchkov, Mikaev and Williams, who will depart the ISS aboard Soyuz MS-28 on July 26, 2026, after 12 days of joint operations. The undocking of Soyuz MS-28 will mark the end of Expedition 74 and the start of Expedition 75 on the station.

The Soyuz MS-29 crew is scheduled to work on the ISS until April 1, 2027.

Soyuz MS-29 crew members:

This page is maintained by Anatoly Zak; last update: July 21, 2026

Page editor: Alain Chabot; last edit: July 13, 2026

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Soyuz MS-29 mission logo.

Soyuz MS-29 crew during Sokol pressure suit tests on June 30, 2026. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

Soyuz MS-29 back-up crew during Soyuz fit tests on June 30, 2026. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

The primary crew boards Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft on July 14, 2026. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA

Soyuz MS-29 lifts off on July 14, 2026. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA

Stage I separation as seen from the ground. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA

One of three aft section of the third stage caught by an onboard camera during separation. Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA