On 1 July 2026, a flag-raising ceremony was held at the Baikonur Cosmodrome to mark the official start of the final stage of the crews’ preparations for the launch of the "Soyuz MS-29" manned transport spacecraft. At site 17, in front of the "Cosmonaut" hotel, the flags of the countries participating in the forthcoming flight – Russia, the USA and Kazakhstan – were raised on the flagpoles.

There are two weeks to go until the scheduled launch of the 75th long-duration expedition to the ISS – it is due to begin on 14 July 2026. The cosmonauts’ days are scheduled down to the minute: final training sessions, medical examinations and experiments. As well as practical training, the crews are also taking part in celebratory events.

Oleg Kononenko, Head of the Cosmonaut Training Centre and cosmonaut of the Russian Federation, addressed those gathered at the event – representatives of the management of Baikonur and RSC "Energia", the city administration, and specialists from the Cosmonaut Training Centre. He wished the team every success in their coordinated efforts in such a crucial task as pre-launch preparations.

Let us remind that the main crew of ISS-75 comprises Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, and NASA astronaut Anil Menon. Their backups are Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Konstantin Borisov, and NASA astronaut Denise Burnham.

Following the flag-raising ceremony, the backup crew set off on a tour of Baikonur, whose history is inextricably linked with the names of the great figures involved in the exploration of space. The cosmonauts laid flowers at the monument to the legendary rocket and space systems designer S.P. Korolev, visited the cosmodrome’s history museum and signed autographs in its exhibition.

It is fitting that the pre-launch training for the ISS-75 crews is being led by Oleg Kononenko – head of the Cosmonaut Training Centre and a native of the Turkmen city of Charjew (now Turkmenabat). This renowned cosmonaut, who set the world record for total time spent in space, has been awarded the title of Hero of Turkmenistan and the country’s highest honour – the Order of the "President’s Star". For many years, he has made a personal contribution to strengthening the friendly relations between Turkmenistan and Russia, and his name remains, quite rightly, a source of pride for his homeland.