The spacecraft, which contains two Russians and one American astronaut, took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan
Russian rockets carrying crews from the US and Russia docked to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft was lifted from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday at 10:47am (05:47 GMT). Spaceflight remains an unusual path for cooperation between the US and Russia, with connections shattered after Moscow unleashing the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
NASA’s Jonathan Kim and Russian astronauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Alexei Zubritsky were on board and docked to the ISS a few hours later, said Roscosmos of the Russian State Space Corporation.
According to Roscosmos, the mission of the latest Soyuz launch is to carry out 50 scientific experiments in space before returning to Earth on December 9th.
Docking confirmed: The Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft released from Earth a few hours ago has been officially docked to @Space_Station at 4:57am ET (0857 UTC). Stay tuned as you greet the station’s latest crew. Coverage begins at 7am (1100 UTC). pic.twitter.com/mg6bkzclql
– NASA (@NASA) April 8, 2025
The Soyuz rocket was decorated to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
However, despite continued cooperation in spaceflight, the US and other Western countries have suspended other partnerships with Roscosmos as part of many sanctions imposed on Russia due to the war.
President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy, Kiril Dmitriev, said he was trying to promote a reset of US-Russia ties in Washington last week, but said the launch on Tuesday was the latest example of enduring space exploration ties that trace history to 1975.
That was when the first crew members were jointly carried out by the US and the Soviet Union saw Apollo and the soy dock in space.
Its mission, characterised by its first international handshake in space, was a symbol of Cold War deterrence.
“Russia and the US cooperation in the space industry continues today,” Dmitriev said he posted a video of the blow up on the official Rocket telegram channel.
Dmitriev added that Moscow may supply a small nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars planned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
For decades, the Russian space program, a source of great pride, has suffered for years from chronic lack of funds, corruption scandals and failures.
The country’s first moon mission in almost 50 years, the Luna-25 probe crashed on the moon after an incident during pre-landing operation in August 2023.
Moscow has begun expanding space cooperation with other countries, including China, the only country to investigate on the dark side of the moon.
With the ISS approaching the end of its service life, Russia has also announced plans to launch its own space station. The first two modules are scheduled to be released in 2027.