NASA Administrator Visits Baikonur Cosmodrome Ahead of U.S.-Russia Crewed ISS Launch

Moscow — NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman attended the scheduled launch on Tuesday of a U.S.-Russian crew to the International Space Station, underscoring the continued cooperation between Moscow and Washington despite geopolitical tensions stemming from Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.

His visit to the Russia‑leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan represented the first visit by a NASA chief in eight years.

During a meeting with the crew on Monday, Isaacman thanked Roscosmos for its preparations, noting that “the integrated work carried out over the past several months demonstrates the professionalism and dedication of all involved.”

He also met with Roscosmos Director Dmitry Bakanov ahead of the launch of NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Russian crewmates Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, who are scheduled to launch aboard the Soyuz MS-29 for an eight‑month mission on the International Space Station.

The mission marks Menon’s first spaceflight and the second for Dubrov and Kikina.

The trio will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud‑Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev and Andrei Fedyaev.

Once fierce rivals in the Cold War space race, Russia and the United States now cooperate on the space station and other projects. Although tensions arose after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the two nations have continued to collaborate, with U.S. and Russian crews traveling to the orbital outpost on each other’s spacecraft.

Plans for expanded cooperation, including potential Russian participation in NASA’s Artemis lunar program, have collapsed. As Russia grows more dependent on China for energy exports and critical technology amid Western sanctions, Roscosmos has begun collaborating with China on its planned lunar mission.

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