NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim Soyuz MS-27 Launch

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim is set to lift off on his first mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday, April 8. Launch is scheduled for 1:47 a.m. EST (0547 UTC) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Kim was selected to become a NASA astronaut in 2017; before joining NASA's astronaut corps, Kim completed more than 100 combat operations as a Navy SEAL. A dual-designated naval aviator and flight surgeon, Kim received his doctorate in medicine from Harvard Medical School.

Kim will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft, accompanied by cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, where they will spend approximately eight months on the International Space Station before returning to Earth in December. Kim will serve as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 72/73 crew, supporting scientific research to help us learn how to live in space while making life better back on Earth.

After liftoff, MS-27 is scheduled to dock with the station at 5:03 a.m. EST (0903 UTC), with hatch opening at approximately 7:20 a.m. EST (1120 UTC).