Russian Search and Rescue teams in all-terrain vehicles chase the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft as it lands with Expedition 59 crew members Anne McClain of NASA, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, and Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, Tuesday, June 25, 2019 Kazakh time (June 24 Eastern time). McClain, Saint-Jacques, and Kononenko are returning after 204 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 58 and 59 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz rocket and Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft are assembled on Friday, Oct. 14, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)

201503150001hq (03/15/2015) --- Taking a moment on Mar. 15, 2015 during their Soyuz spacecraft training to pose for a photograph in Kazakhstan is Expedition 43 NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, left, and Russian Cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, center, and Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome,. The trio are preparing for launch to the International Space Station in their Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan March 27 (USA Date). The one-year crew, Kelly and Kornienko will return to Earth on Soyuz TMA-18M in Mar. 2016. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov).

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin onboard, Sunday, March 3, 2024, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission is the eighth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Dominick, Barratt, Epps, and Grebenkin launched at 10:53 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center to begin a six month mission aboard the orbital outpost. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

The Soyuz MS-08 rocket is launched with Expedition 55 Soyuz Commander Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos and flight engineers Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel of NASA, Wednesday, March 21, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Artemyev, Arnold, and Feustel will spend the next five months living and working aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Expedition 58 crew, Flight Engineer Anne McClain of NASA, Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) pose for a photo with senior officials of Roscosmos, NASA, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) after arriving at the launch pad by bus to begin boarding the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft for launch, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Kononenko, McClain, and Saint-Jacques will spend the next six and a half months onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

The Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft is seen as the service structure arms begin to close on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Expedition 52 flight engineer Sergei Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos, flight engineer Randy Bresnik of NASA, and flight engineer Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency), are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 28. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Expedition 49 Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov, center, answers a questing during a crew press conference Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Ryzhikov, Shane Kimbrough of NASA, and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

The Soyuz rocket and Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft is assembled Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft is scheduled for March 19 and will send Expedition 47 Soyuz Commander Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Jeff Williams of NASA, and Flight Engineer Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos to the International Space Station for a five and a half month stay. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)

The Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 59 crew members Anne McClain of NASA, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, and Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, Tuesday, June 25, 2019 Kazakh time (June 24 Eastern time). McClain, Saint-Jacques, and Kononenko are returning after 204 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 58 and 59 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

nhq201704100011 (April 10, 2017) --- The Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Monday, April 10, 2017 (Kazakh time). Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, and Borisenko are returning after 173 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 49 and 50 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Expedition 52 flight engineer Sergei Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos, flight engineer Randy Bresnik of NASA, and flight engineer Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency), are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 28. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

On Friday 26 November, astronauts on board the International Space Station welcomed the final Russian module, Prichal, This Node Module provides additional docking ports for Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov oversaw it's docking to the Russian segment.

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Credit: ESA/NASA/Roscosmos

Head of Roscosmos, Igor Komarov, left, poses for a photo in front of a Soyuz spacecraft with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, right, during a tour of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) on Friday, March 25, 2016, in Star City, Russia. Photo Credit: (NASA/AubreyGemignani)

Visiting astronaut Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates is seen outside the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft after he landed with Expedition 60 crewmembers Nick Hague of NASA and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. Hague and Ovchinin are returning after 203 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 59 and 60 crews onboard the International Space Station. Almansoori logged 8 days in space during his first flight as an astronaut. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 49 Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos are seen during Russian Sokol Suit pressure checks conducted ahead of the launch of the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft to the International Space Station Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Ryzhikov, Borisenko, and Shane Kimbrough of NASA are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Expedition 47 Flight Engineer Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos has his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft on Friday, March 18, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for the early hours of March 19 Baikonur time, and will carry Skripochka and fellow crewmates, Soyuz Commander Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams of NASA, into orbit to begin their five and a half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Russian Search and Rescue teams arrive at the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft shortly after it landed with Expedition 57 crew members Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA, Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency), and Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. Auñón-Chancellor, Gerst, and Prokopyev are returning after 197 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 56 and 57 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti trains in Extravehicular Activity (EVA) and the Russian segment of the International Space Station at Roscosmos's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. October 2021.

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Credit: GCTC

nhq201610080005 (Oct. 8, 2016) --- Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough is helped into his Sokol launch and entry suit in preparation for conducting the first check dress rehearsal activities, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Kimbrough, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)

Russian support personnel start to depart the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft landing site shortly after it landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 64 crew members Mark Vande Hei of NASA, and cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, and Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Vande Hei and Dubrov are returning to Earth after logging 355 days in space as members of Expeditions 64-66 aboard the International Space Station. For Vande Hei, his mission is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut in history. Shkaplerov is returning after 176 days in space, serving as a Flight Engineer for Expedition 65 and commander of Expedition 66. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

nhq201610110002 (Oct. 11, 2016) --- The Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft is seen as the work platforms around it are retracted in preparation for being encapsulated in its fairing on Thursday, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, and Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)

The Soyuz rocket and Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft is assembled at the Pad 1 complex at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Saturday, April 15, 2017, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft is scheduled for April 20 Baikonur time and will send Expedition 51 Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA into orbit to begin their four and a half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (Roscosmos)

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins (left), cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos (center), and astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) pose for pictures in front of their Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft during their second and final pre-launch fit check dress rehearsal activities, Saturday, July 2, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Rubins, Ivanishin, and Onishi will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the morning of July 7, Kazakh time (July 6 Eastern time.) All three will spend approximately four months on the orbital complex, returning to Earth in October. Photo Credit: (NASA/Alexander Vysotsky)

In the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 46-47 crewmember Tim Peake of the European Space Agency suits up during a fit check dress rehearsal 1 December. Peake, Tim Kopra of NASA and Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will launch 15 December from Baikonur in the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov

The Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad by train on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough answers a question during a crew press conference, while in quarantine behind glass, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Kimbrough and his Expedition 49 crewmates Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough rests in a chair outside the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft just minutes after he, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Monday, April 10, 2017 (Kazakh time). Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, and Borisenko are returning after 173 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 49 and 50 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

jsc2018e078861 (Nov. 16, 2017) --- Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 57-58 crew member Alexey Ovchinin is pictured in a Sokol launch and entry suit at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

The Soyuz rocket is seen on the launch pad as the service structure arms are closed around it, Monday, March 19, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 55 crewmembers Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel of NASA and Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch at 1:44 p.m. Eastern time (11:44 p.m. Baikonur time) on March 21 and will spend the next five months living and working aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos is seen after the opening of the hatches between the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft and the International Space Station on the screens in the Moscow Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia a few hours after the Soyuz MS-07 docked to the International Space Station on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017. Hatches were opened at 5:55 a.m. EST and Shkaplerov, Scott Tingle of NASA, and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) joined Expedition 54 Commander Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos and crewmates Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba of NASA aboard the orbiting laboratory. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos rest in a chair and is gifted a watermelon outside the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft a few moments after he and NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016(Kazakh time). Williams, Ovchinin, and Skripochka are returning after 172 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 47 and 48 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA, Roscosmos and Russian Search and Rescue teams deploy from the Karaganda Airport to Zhezkazgan in order to prepare for the Soyuz MS-04 landing with Expedition 52 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineers Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer of NASA Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017. Whitson is returning after 288 days in space where she served as a member of the Expedition 50, 51 and 52 crews. Yurchikhin and Fischer are returning after 136 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 51 and 52 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz rocket and Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft is assembled at Building 112 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Monday, Sept. 22, 2014, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz is scheduled for Sept. 26 and will send Expedition 41 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA, and Flight Engineer Elena Serova of Roscosmos to the International Space Station for a five and a half month stay. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)

At 11:12 GMT (13:12 CEST), 6 June 2018, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst was launched into space alongside NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos commander Sergei Prokopyev in the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The launch went as planned as the 50-m tall Soyuz rocket propelled the astronauts to their cruising speed of around 28 800 km/h. Within 10 minutes of rising from the pad, the trio travelled over 1640 km and gained 210 km altitude. Every second for nine minutes, their spacecraft accelerated 50 km/h on average.

The spacecraft is an improved model from the last time Alexander was launched into space in 2014 with many technological upgrades to make the spacecraft lighter and more modern. For example, halogen lights have been replaced with LEDs, and newer and larger solar panels increase power generation.

Over the next two days, while circling Earth 34 times, the trio will catch up with the International Space Station where they will spend the next six months. The journey is relatively smooth and quiet after the rigours of launch. With no Internet or satellite phones, the crew relies on radio to communicate at set intervals with ground control.

The German astronaut is a returning visitor to the International Space Station, the first of ESA’s 2009 class of astronauts to be sent into space for a second time. During the second part of his mission Alexander will take over as commander of the International Space Station, only the second time an ESA astronaut will take on this role so far.

Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja

Security personnel are seen as the Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad, Monday, March 19, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 55 crewmembers Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel of NASA and Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch at 1:44 p.m. Eastern time (11:44 p.m. Baikonur time) on March 21 and will spend the next five months living and working aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet gets his hair cut, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the morning of November 18 (Kazakh time.) All three will spend approximately six months on the orbital complex. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Russian support personnel work around the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft shortly after it landed with Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Monday, April 10, 2017 (Kazakh time). Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, and Borisenko are returning after 173 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 49 and 50 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 59 crew members Anne McClain of NASA, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, and Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, Tuesday, June 25, 2019 Kazakh time (June 24 Eastern time). McClain, Saint-Jacques, and Kononenko are returning after 204 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 58 and 59 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad, Monday, June 4, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 56 Soyuz Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos, flight engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA, and flight engineer Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft at 7:12 a.m. Eastern time (5:12 p.m. Baikonur time), on Wednesday, June 6. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Russian Search and Rescue helicopter teams survey the sky for the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 66 crew members Mark Vande Hei of NASA, and cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, and Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Vande Hei and Dubrov are returning to Earth after logging 355 days in space as members of Expeditions 64-66 aboard the International Space Station. For Vande Hei, his mission is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut in history. Shkaplerov is returning after 176 days in space, serving as a Flight Engineer for Expedition 65 and commander of Expedition 66. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

nhq202104060010 (April 6, 2021) --- A locomotive engineer waits in advance of the Soyuz rocket being rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Tuesday, April 6, 2021, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 65 NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Oleg Novitskiy are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on April 9. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz MS-13 rocket is launched with Expedition 60 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos, flight engineer Drew Morgan of NASA, and flight engineer Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency), Saturday, July 20, 2019 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Skvortsov, Morgan, and Parmitano launched at 12:28 p.m. Eastern time (9:28 p.m. Baikonur time) to begin their mission to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Nick Hague of NASA his walks with NASA Associate Administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Directorate William Gerstenmaier, center, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, right, prior to boarding the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft for launch, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Hague and Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos will spend the next six months living and working aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the morning of November 18 (Kazakh time.) All three will spend approximately six months on the orbital complex. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos rest in a chair outside the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft a few moments after he and NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016(Kazakh time). Williams, Ovchinin, and Skripochka are returning after 172 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 47 and 48 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz rocket is transported by train to the launch pad, Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, will launch March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

nhq201611160033 (Nov. 16, 2016) --- Expedition 50 backup crew member NASA astronaut Jack Fischer is seen in quarantine behind glass during a crew press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the morning of November 18 (Kazakh time.) All three will spend approximately six months on the orbital complex. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Russian Orthodox Priest blesses the Soyuz rocket, Monday, July 13, 2026 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 31 launch pad in Kazakhstan. Expedition 75 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina are scheduled to launch aboard the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft to the International Space Station on July 14. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

nhq201610130033 (10/13/2016) --- Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA descends the stairs from the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft during the final fit check of the spacecraft with Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, and Borisenko are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)