U.S.-Russian Crew of Three Launches to International Space Station on Soyuz MS-27
April 8, 2025, 2:09 AM PDT — A trio of space explorers—NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky—blasted off toward the International Space Station (ISS) early Tuesday, April 8, aboard a Russian Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft. The launch, executed flawlessly from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:47 a.m. EDT (0547 UTC; 10:47 a.m. local time), marks another chapter in the enduring U.S.-Russia space partnership, even as geopolitical tensions simmer below and Trump’s tariffs roil global markets.
The Soyuz 2.1a rocket thundered into the predawn sky, its engines igniting with precision to propel the crew into orbit in just eight minutes and 45 seconds. NASA’s live coverage captured the ascent, with commentators noting, “All three stages operated as expected,” as the spacecraft slipped into its preliminary orbit. By 4:57 a.m. EDT (0857 UTC), the Soyuz had docked autonomously with the ISS’s Poisk module, a mere three hours and 10 minutes after liftoff—a testament to the efficiency of Russia’s workhorse launcher. Hatches opened around 7:20 a.m. EDT (1120 UTC), welcoming the trio aboard the orbiting outpost.
The Crew: A Blend of Experience and Ambition
Leading the mission is Sergey Ryzhikov, 50, a seasoned Roscosmos cosmonaut on his third spaceflight. A former Russian Air Force pilot with over 540 hours aloft from prior ISS missions (Expeditions 49/50 and 63/64), he waved confidently before boarding, his experience a steady hand for the crew. Alexey Zubritsky, 38, steps into space for the first time, a rookie cosmonaut whose engineering background promises fresh perspective. Rounding out the team is Jonny Kim, 41, a Los Angeles native and U.S. Navy lieutenant commander making his orbital debut. A dual-designated naval aviator and flight surgeon—previously a SEAL with a Bronze Star—Kim’s journey from combat to the cosmos has captivated NASA watchers.
Their mission: an eight-month stint spanning Expeditions 72 and 73, set to wrap in December 2025. Kim will spearhead scientific investigations, from microgravity’s effects on human physiology to tech demos prepping for lunar and Martian voyages, NASA says—work poised to yield Earth-bound benefits. They join a bustling station crew: NASA’s Don Pettit, Anne McClain, and Nichole Ayers; JAXA’s Takuya Onishi; and Roscosmos’ Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Kirill Peskov, swelling the ISS population to 10.
A Partnership Above Politics
The launch underscores a rare bright spot in U.S.-Russia relations. Since 2022’s integrated crew agreement, NASA and Roscosmos have swapped seats—Americans on Soyuz, Russians on SpaceX Crew Dragons—to ensure redundancy and keep the ISS humming. “It’s about reliability,” a NASA spokesperson told Space.com in January, a pact extended through 2025 despite terrestrial frictions over Ukraine and Trump’s tariff escalations (34% on China, 10% globally). Posts on X hailed the collaboration: “Space remains the one place where we still work together,” one user wrote.
This mission follows a busy rotation cycle. Soyuz MS-25 delivered Tracy Dyson in March 2024, with her return slated for September alongside Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, who’ll log a year aloft. Crew-10’s SpaceX launch in March 2025 brought McClain’s team, overlapping with today’s arrivals. The ISS, a football-field-sized marvel orbiting at 17,500 mph, thrives on this choreography—a $150 billion testament to international grit.
The Scene: Fanfare and Focus
At Baikonur, a leased Soviet-era relic in Kazakhstan’s steppe, the mood was electric yet disciplined. Footage showed the crew—Ryzhikov at the bottom, Kim in the middle, Zubritsky atop the capsule—waving farewell through glass before suiting up in Sokol pressure suits. Spectators, bundled against the chill, watched the Soyuz pierce the sky, its flame a beacon against the dark. NASA’s stream cut to Johnson Space Center’s jubilation as docking confirmed, while Roscosmos beamed parallel pride from Moscow’s control.
The mission’s backdrop is chaotic—Trump’s tariffs have tanked markets ($5 trillion S&P 500 loss), and Bitcoin’s below $75,000. Yet space endures. “Engine ignition and liftoff,” NASA tweeted at 23:09 PDT Monday, followed by docking confirmation at 02:03 PDT Tuesday. The crew’s first task post-hatch: a safety briefing, then settling into a lab hosting over 200 experiments, from organ growth to radiation studies.
What’s Next: A Long Haul Ahead
Kim, Ryzhikov, and Zubritsky face a marathon—240 days of science, maintenance, and perhaps a spacewalk or two. Their Soyuz MS-27, now docked, will be their ride home, its six-month orbital lifespan a Russian engineering hallmark. For Kim, it’s a debut with stakes: his research could shape NASA’s Artemis moonshot, delayed to 2026. For Ryzhikov, it’s another lap in a storied career; for Zubritsky, a baptism by starlight.
As the ISS orbits 250 miles up, this launch proves space transcends borders—a U.S.-Russian crew united not by politics, but by a shared frontier. With the world watching, from Baikonur’s sands to Houston’s screens, their journey’s just begun.
