posted 11-24-2025 09:38 AM               

Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, crew poised for launch

Soyuz MS-28 commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and flight engineer Sergey Mikayev, both of Roscosmos, together with flight engineer Chris Williams of NASA are set to launch to the International Space Station at 4:27 a.m. EST (0927 GMT or 2:27 p.m. Kazakhstan local) on Thursday (Nov. 27) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

They will dock the Soyuz to the station's Rassvet module at approximately 7:38 a.m. EST (1238 GMT), after a two-orbit, three-hour rendezvous.

About two hours later, the hatches between the Soyuz and station will open and Kud-Sverchkov, Mikayev and Williams will be greeted by Expedition 73 commander Sergey Ryzhikov and flight engineers Alexey Zubritsky and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos; NASA astronauts Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke; and Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)

Kud-Sverchkov, Mikayev and Williams will stay on the station through July.

On Monday (Nov. 24), the Soyuz-2.1a rocket was transported to the pad by train and erected into position.

posted 11-27-2025 07:55 AM               

Soyuz MS-28 crew makes Thanksgiving Day arrival at International Space Station

The first-ever space crew to launch on Thanksgiving Day has made it official: you cannot escape holiday traffic, even if you are in orbit.

To be clear, it was smooth sailing for NASA astronaut Chris Williams and his two Soyuz MS-28 crewmates, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev, as they completed two revolutions of the planet to arrive at the International Space Station on Thursday (Nov. 27). The trio launched at 4:27 a.m. EST (0927 GMT; 2:27 p.m. local) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

posted 07-26-2026 08:01 AM               

Soyuz MS-28 crew returns from space station

Concluding an eight-month science mission aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Chris Williams returned to Earth on Sunday (July 26) alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev.

Above: The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 74 NASA astronaut Chris Williams, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev aboard, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The crew made its safe, parachute-assisted landing at 6:27 a.m. EDT (1027 GMT or 3:27 p.m. local time), southeast of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, after departing the space station at 3:03 a.m. EDT, aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft.

The crew was in space for 241 days and 59 minutes, orbiting the Earth 3,856 times and traveling more than 102 million miles. The mission was the first for Williams and Mikaev and the second for Kud-Sverchkov, who now has logged 426 days and 9 minutes in space.

While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Williams supported a wide range of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations. He helped advance research for new cancer treatments and improved in-space manufacturing of materials used in high-performance computers and electronics.

Williams also completed two spacewalks to prep for space station power system upgrades and to replace a faulty joint on the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev together conducted an EVA (extravehicular activity) to install new equipment and collect the result of science experiments from the Russian segment of the space station.

Above: NASA astronaut Chris Williams, left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, center, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Mikaev are seen inside the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft after they landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Sunday, July 26, 2026. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Following post-landing medical checks, the crew members were flown by helicopter to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where recovery teams were based. The crew there will split ways, with Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev returning to Star City outside of Moscow and a NASA aircraft flying Williams back to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.