The Soyuz MS-29 Mission Rocket Featured Advertising for a Russian Energy Drink

On July 14 at 16:47, a Soyuz 2.1a rocket was launched for the Soyuz MS-29 mission from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Onboard the spacecraft were cosmonauts Petr Dubrov and Anna Kikina from Roscosmos, alongside NASA astronaut Anil Menon for the Soyuz MS-29 mission. This is a continuation of the "seat exchange" program, which allows a cosmonaut to fly on Crew Dragon and an astronaut to fly on Soyuz at no additional cost.

The launch of the Soyuz MS-29 mission took place smoothly using a rendezvous trajectory, completing only two orbits before reaching the International Space Station. The mission will have a total duration of 261 days before returning to Earth. This will be one of the last launches of variant "a" as only variant "b" will be used in the coming years.

One of the curiosities of this Russian rocket launch was the presence of an aesthetic "decoration" on the exterior. Specifically, near the boosters of the lower stage, drawings made by children were present, while slightly higher was an advertisement for a Russian energy drink called LIT Energy (which has initiated a tailored marketing campaign). This falls within the program announced earlier this year by Roscosmos that allows for advertisements to be displayed on launch vehicles (provided they do not affect the functionality and safety of the rocket).

This is a way for the Russian space agency to generate additional funds through private investments, and this is the first application of the new approach. As previously noted, this is not the first time something similar has happened (for example, the advertisement for West cigarettes for the launch of a Russian Proton-K vehicle in 1992).

Present at the launch of the Soyuz MS-29 mission was also Jared Isaacman (NASA administrator). A NASA administrator had not visited a Russian space launch center since 2018, with Jim Bridenstine for the Soyuz MS-10 mission.

Inside the capsule were also scientific equipment dedicated to biomedical and biotechnological research. During this mission, the crew will conduct approximately forty scientific experiments. Some of the new instruments include the Gazoanalizator-FS and Teledroid. The former is an automated system for analyzing the Earth's atmosphere, while the latter is a humanoid robot designed to collaborate with cosmonauts on the International Space Station.