NASA astronaut Anil Menon will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft toward the International Space Station on Tuesday, July 14, accompanied by cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, where they will join the Expedition 74 crew to advance scientific research.

Menon, Dubrov and Kikina will lift off at 10:47 a.m. EDT (7:47 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Live coverage of the launch and docking is available on NASA+, Amazon Prime and the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to view NASA content across a variety of online platforms, including social media.

After a three-hour, two-orbit journey to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock at 1:56 p.m. into the Prichal module. Soon after, hatches will open between the Soyuz and the orbiting laboratory.

Once on board, the trio will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrey Fedyaev.

NASA’s coverage schedule is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Tuesday July 14

9:45 am: Launch coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime and YouTube.

10:47 am – Launch

1:10 pm – Rendezvous and docking coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime and YouTube.

13:56 – Docking

3:30 pm – Hatch opening and welcome coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime and YouTube.

15:55 – Hatch opening

Menon, Dubrov and Kikina will spend about eight months aboard the orbital complex as crew members of the International Space Station’s Expedition 74/75 before returning to Earth in April 2027. This will be Menon’s first spaceflight and the second for both Dubrov and Kikina.

While on the station, Menon will conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations aimed at promoting human space exploration and benefiting life on Earth. Research will continue to refine space production of semiconductor crystals to enable large-scale manufacturing of components needed for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence, and improved medical devices. Menon will also perform ultrasounds using augmented reality and artificial intelligence methods that could eliminate the need for medical support from Earth on future space missions. He will be a test subject that will help researchers understand how blood flow is affected in space to protect future astronauts. It will also test bioprinting of vascular constructs in microgravity to improve understanding of the aging process and advance therapeutic developments.

For more than 25 years, people have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and achieving research breakthroughs that were not possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low-Earth orbit, and lay the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.

For more information about the International Space Station’s research, operations and crews, visit:

www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Joshua Finch/Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov