NASA’s Jonny Kim Heads to Space With Russian Crew on Soyuz MS-27

On April 8, 2025, an American-Russian crew launched a mixed spaceflight mission early Tuesday. The Soyuz MS-27 was launched from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome. NASA astronaut Dr. Jonny Kim, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and physician, together with Russian cosmonauts Alexey Zubritsky and Sergey Ryzhikov are the a part of the crew. In what shall be Kim’s maiden voyage, the spacecraft blasted off on a Soyuz 2.1a rocket at 1:47 a.m. EDT and can spend eight months on board the ISS.

Soyuz MS-27 docks after transient orbital journey

According to NASA’s official launch briefing, the Soyuz MS-27 capsule is scheduled to complete a two-orbit strategy earlier than docking with the ISS’s Prichal module at round 5:04 a.m. EDT. The crew will be part of Commander Alexey Ovchinin’s Expedition 72 after a profitable docking and hatch opening. Currently, a mix of Japanese, American and Russian astronauts are stationed there.

Expanded crew to help a number of mission goals

As outlined by Roscosmos and NASA mission updates, the three new arrivals, particularly, Ryzhikov, Zubritsky, and Kim, will help varied science experiments, upkeep duties, and visiting car operations. There are many spacewalks which are additionally deliberate. Kim had expressed his need to take part in a spacewalk in an interview with NASA TV earlier than launch. He described the bodily and psychological challenges as taxing.

Background of the crew and symbolic mission particulars

According to statements made to gather, Kim, aged 41, credited his various profession path to alternative and timing. He turns into the third U.S. Navy SEAL to enter orbit. Ryzhikov, a 50-year-old veteran cosmonaut, begins his third mission, whereas 32-year-old Zubritsky embarks on his first. The mission’s name signal is “Favour,” and the crew’s patch honours two key milestones in area historical past: the sixtieth anniversary of the primary spacewalk and 50 years for the reason that Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.