Russian cosmonauts, NASA astronaut set off on 8-month joint space mission

WASHINGTON — Russia sent two cosmonauts and a United States astronaut to the International Space Station, or ISS, on Tuesday from Kazakhstan, resuming crewed flights from a recently repaired launchpad with a rare joint attendance by the heads of NASA and Russia's space agency.

US astronaut Anil Menon and cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard Russia's Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft on Tuesday, bound for the ISS, where they will spend about eight months as the station's 75th rotation crew.

The crew arrived at the American football field-sized space laboratory just over three hours later as they orbited over the Mediterranean Sea, joining three Americans, two Europeans and two Russians already aboard.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman traveled to Baikonur to meet Roscosmos Director Dmitry Bakanov and watch the launch, the first visit to Russia's launchpad by a NASA chief since 2018. Tensions over the Russia-Ukraine conflict had largely prevented Bill Nelson, former US president Joe Biden's NASA chief, from such visits.

During a meeting with the crew on Monday, Isaacman thanked Roscosmos for its efforts to prepare for the mission, saying "the integrated work performed over the past several months reflects the professionalism and dedication of everyone involved".

Cooperation amid tensions

Cooperation on the 27-year-old ISS between NASA and Russia's space agency Roscosmos has survived years of tensions between the two countries, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, primarily out of technical necessity.

US solar panels power the entirety of the ISS while Russian thrusters help keep the station in orbit.

Both countries also see the ISS as key to maintaining their prized human spaceflight programs, despite the growing militarization of Earth's orbit that has created another flash point between Washington and Moscow.

Air leaks aboard the aging ISS have tested relations between NASA and Roscosmos, with the two agencies at times disagreeing over how to identify and fix the source of leaks.

Last month NASA ordered its astronauts to prepare for a possible evacuation during a dispute with Russia over how to repair one such air leak. A cosmonaut onboard was planning to use a saw to access a compartment believed to be housing the source of the leak, raising concern among NASA officials.

The health of the space station, which is poised for retirement soon after 2030, was likely on the agenda of Isaacman's talks with Russian space officials. A video posted on Telegram by Roscosmos shows Isaacman talking with Bakanov, flanked by senior Roscosmos officials.

AGENCIES VIA XINHUA