Russia successfully launched three humans to the International Space Station (ISS) today. The Soyuz 2.1a rocket lifted off at 3:57 pm IST from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with the MS-28 spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev.
Off they go! @Astro_ChrisW is embarking on his first-ever flight to space. The crew aboard the spacecraft will spend eight months conducting research on the @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/MLzOnKL7DL
— NASA (@NASA) November 27, 2025
The MS-28 spacecraft’s docking to the station’s Rassvet module was confirmed at 6:05 pm IST. It was the first spaceflight for Williams and Mikaev and the second mission for Kud-Sverchkov to the orbital lab. According to NASA, the trio will make their planned return eight months later.
The launch took place when the world is celebrating Thanksgiving. Williams and crew will be received by seven other Expedition 73 crew members – NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, Jonny Kim, and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritsky, and Oleg Platonov. With the MS-28 mission crew’s arrival, the number of astronauts aboard the ISS will expand to 10.
In a video released by NASA, Fincke showed off the Thanksgiving dinner the Expedition 73 team has ready for the arriving guests.
“Food is a really important part of everyday life up here, and staying happy and healthy,” said Cardman. “We share a lot of meals, and so this one is just going to be extra special. Our ground teams, and the food lab at NASA, have taken such great care of us that we have a very special food holiday bag here. We’ve got everything from turkey and the traditional things that Mike mentioned to some mashed potatoes, to crab meat, salmon. We’ve even got some lobster, which is amazing.”
Gratitude: launched. 🚀
This Thanksgiving, Expedition 73 crew members, @NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, Jonny Kim, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, share a holiday message from the International @Space_Station. From turkey and… pic.twitter.com/h2tn3gn7Ro
— NASA’s Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) November 25, 2025
Cardman is currently serving as the commander of NASA’s Crew-11 mission which began in August. Meanwhile, Ryzhikov, Zubritsky and Kim will prepare for their return in early December aboard the MS-27 spacecraft, wrapping up their 8-month-long mission.
NASA recently celebrated the silver jubilee of sustained human presence in low-Earth orbit as the space station turned 25 years old this month. With the first module launched in 1998, the ISS started hosting humans since the year 2000 and has been visited by nearly 300 astronauts to date.
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