Baikonur, Kazakhstan: ISS Mission cooperation continued on Tuesday as Russia launched two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS), marking the return of crewed flights from a recently repaired launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

NASA astronaut Anil Menon joined Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft, which lifted off at 10:47am EDT (1447 GMT). The spacecraft docked with the ISS just over three hours later, where the crew will spend about eight months as part of Expedition 75.

The new arrivals joined seven astronauts already aboard the orbiting laboratory, including three Americans, two Europeans and two Russians.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman travelled to Baikonur to attend the launch alongside Roscosmos Director Dmitry Bakanov. The visit marked the first trip by a NASA chief to the Russian spaceport since 2018, highlighting continued cooperation despite tensions between Washington and Moscow.

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The mission marked Anil Menon’s first journey into space. Isaacman praised the astronaut after the launch, describing him as a highly accomplished military officer, physician, pilot and future leader in NASA’s astronaut corps.

For Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, the mission marks their second spaceflight. Kikina previously became the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2022 under the US-Russia crew exchange programme.

Despite political tensions over the war in Ukraine, NASA and Roscosmos continue to work together on the International Space Station because both agencies depend on each other’s systems to keep the orbiting laboratory operational.

The ISS relies on US solar panels for electrical power, while Russian thrusters help maintain the station’s orbit.

Recent air leaks aboard the ageing station have tested cooperation between the two agencies, but both sides continue to coordinate repairs as the ISS approaches its planned retirement after 2030.

The launch also marked the return of crewed missions from Baikonur’s Site 31 after engineers completed repairs following significant damage caused during Russia’s previous crew launch from the facility.