Bishop Ignatii of Kyzylorda and Aktobe blesses the Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome site 31 launch in Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bishop Ignatii of Kyzylorda and Aktobe gives blessings to personnel and the Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome site 31 launch in Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bishop Ignatii of Kyzylorda and Aktobe, front center, blesses the Soyuz rocket as Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky, back left, and Oleg Artemyev, back right, look on, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome site 31 launch pad in Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bishop Ignatii of Kyzylorda and Aktobe, center, prepares to bless the Soyuz rocket as Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, left, looks on, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome site 31 launch pad in Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bishop Ignatii of Kyzylorda and Aktobe blesses the Soyuz rocket, as Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev takes a photograph, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome site 31 launch in Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bishop Ignatii of Kyzylorda and Aktobe blesses the Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome site 31 launch in Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky, left, and Oleg Artemyev, participate in the traditional blessing by Bishop Ignatii of Kyzylorda and Aktobe, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome site 31 launch pad in Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bishop Ignatii of Kyzylorda and Aktobe blesses the Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome site 31 launch in Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Russian Orthodox Bishop Ignatii blesses the Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad in Kazakhstan. Expedition 68 astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA, and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft on Sept. 21. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls}

Russian Orthodox Bishop Ignatii blesses the Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad in Kazakhstan. Expedition 68 astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA, and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft on Sept. 21. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls}

Russian Orthodox Bishop Ignatii blesses the Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad in Kazakhstan. Expedition 68 astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA, and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft on Sept. 21. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls}

Russian Orthodox Bishop Ignatii blesses the Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad in Kazakhstan. Expedition 68 astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA, and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft on Sept. 21. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls}

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, center, is blessed by Bishop Ignatii of Kyzylorda and Aktobe, during a traditional blessing of the Soyuz rocket and personnel, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, at the at the Baikonur Cosmodrome site 31 launch pad in Kazakhstan. Expedition 72 crew members: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on September 11. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Russian Orthodox Bishop Ignatii blesses the Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad in Kazakhstan. Expedition 68 astronaut Frank Rubio of NASA, and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft on Sept. 21. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls}