A Russian Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft, carrying NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1447 UTC Tuesday (July 14) and autonomously docked with the International Space Station (ISS) at 1752 UTC, just three hours after liftoff.

The Soyuz executed nominal side booster separation about two minutes after liftoff, followed by second stage separation about 2.5 minutes later, as the rocket flew at 169 kilometers(km) in altitude. Third stage orbital insertion and separation was completed at about 8 minutes and 46 seconds, putting Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft and crew on course to chase down the ISS.

The Soyuz MS-29 capsule autonomously docked with the Prichal module of the ISS while both were flying about 418 km above the Mediterranean Sea. Following hatch opening at 2030 UTC, the trio floated into the ISS, welcomed by the seven astronauts already living aboard the ISS — NASA's Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, and Chris Williams, the European Space Agency's Sophie Adenot, and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev, and Andrey Fedyaev of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

The MS-29 trio will spend about eight months living and working on the orbiting lab. Menon will help conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments during that stretch.

"He will continue research to refine in-space production of semiconductor crystals to enable the large-scale manufacturing of components needed for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence, and improved medical devices," NASA officials wrote in a July 9 media advisory. "Menon also will perform ultrasound using augmented reality and artificial intelligence methods that could eliminate the need for medical support from Earth on future space missions."

This is Menon’s first spaceflight and the second for Dubrov and Kikina, who will remain on the station for an eight-month mission through April 2027. The new trio will transition to Expedition 75 after the current crew commander Kud-Sverchkov, flight engineers Williams and Mikaev depart on Soyuz MS-28 later in the month.

Menon has already been to space, though not with NASA. In September 2024, while an employee of SpaceX, she flew on the company's Polaris Dawn mission to Earth orbit becoming the company's first flight surgeon. That five-day flight, which was funded and commanded by current NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, featured the first-ever commercial spacewalk and reached a maximum altitude of 1,400.7 km — higher than any previous crewed Earth-orbiting mission had gotten.

Kikina, the only female member of Russia's active astronaut corps, flew to and from the ISS back then on SpaceX's Crew-5 mission. That was a big deal: She was the first Russian ever to fly on a private U.S. spacecraft, and the first cosmonaut to fly on any American space vehicle since December 2002, when cosmonauts Valery Korzun and Sergey Treshchov came back to Earth from the ISS aboard the space shuttle Endeavour.

Yair Netanyahu has legally changed his name to Yonatan Hon, a decision revealed through 2026 tax records and finalized over the past year and a half. The new name ostensibly honors his late paternal uncle, Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu, who died during the 1976 Operation Entebbe rescue mission, while "Hon" is the original surname of his maternal grandfather, Shmuel Ben-Artzi. Under Israeli law, this name change is irreversible for seven years.

The move occurs as the Netanyahu family name faces intense international scrutiny, including an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the war in Gaza. Yair, who resides in Florida, had previously used variations like "Yair Hun" on social media; his new legal address was listed satirically as "Balfour 0", mocking the Prime Minister’s official residence.

This is not the first name change within the family. Yair’s younger brother, Avner Netanyahu, adopted the name Avi Segal (his grandmother’s maiden name) to purchase property in Oxford and study abroad, citing security concerns. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself used the name Ben Nitai while studying at MIT in the 1970s to facilitate integration in the United States.

Donald Trump Monday, announced on Truth Social that the U.S. is reinstating the "Iranian Blockade" on the Strait of Hormuz, declaring the waterway "OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran." The President stated the measure targets only Iranian ships or customers, while all other nations retain "fair and open use" of the strategic corridor.

The president declared the U.S. will act as the "Guardian of the Hormuz Strait" and demanded a 20% reimbursement on all cargo shipped to cover security costs, asserting the process would begin immediately. However critics point out that Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) controls ship transit through the strait by firing missiles on ships that try to take the US-supported route off the Omani coast.

"The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,' but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World. The process and formation will begin immediately."

Earlier in the day, during a phone interview on Fox News, Trump claimed, "We’re taking over the strait... We’re going to get paid for guarding it—a lot of money," suggesting wealthy Gulf nations should reimburse the U.S. for keeping the channel secure.

The reinstatement follows a breakdown in a 60-day truce and a weekend of intensified tit-for-tat missile and drone strikes between the U.S. and Iran, sparked by attacks on commercial shipping off the coast of Oman. Sunday's strikes marks the first combat use of U.S. unmanned surface vessels (Corsair drones) to strike facilities at the Bandar Abbas Naval Base.

In response, Iran declared the Strait closed, with the Revolutionary Guard vowing to prevent "illegal interference" by U.S. forces, while Iranian Foreign Ministry officials accused Washington of undermining the interim peace agreement.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed via X post, that enforcement of the naval blockade against all Iranian ports and coastal areas will commence on Tuesday, July 14, at 4 p.m. ET (2000 UTC). The military command warned that neutral vessels must depart the blockaded zone before the deadline, stating that any ship suspected of entering or leaving without authorization faces interception, diversion, and capture.

CENTCOM emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade and that Iran does not control it, following recent U.S. strikes on Iranian air-defense systems, radar sites, and drone capabilities.

TThe Strait of Hormuz is the most vital chokepoint in the global energy market, carrying roughly 20% of the world's petroleum and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded with dry sarcasm on social media. While mockingly agreeing that safe passage "should be compensated," he declared that Iran is and will remain the sole "GUARDIAN of the Strait". He added that Trump's proposed "20% is of course too much." Meanwhile, Iranian military commanders warned Gulf nations that providing logistical support to the U.S. blockade would be treated as "an act of war."

Maritime legal experts and international allies have raised concerns over Trump's plan to levy a 20% fee on transiting cargo. Historically, the U.S. has fiercely defended the Strait as an open international waterway free of transit fees. Implementation of a toll would likely trigger immense legal battles and push global energy prices higher.

However political observers and critics say that Trump appear to be flailing and "stuck" in the messy conflict with Iran, dismissing his social media post about a 20% transit fee as a desperate and provoctive rhetoric aimed at making the president appear in control of events on the ground in the strait.

Key importing nations in Asia, such as India, South Korea, and Thailand, are highly vulnerable to prolonged disruptions in the Strait. Previous weeks of the blockade in the spring of 2026 reportedly cost the Iranian economy billions, but also drove up global shipping insurance and fuel prices.