Russia has resumed launches from its key ISS crew pad, Baikonur’s Site 31, after repairs from a November collapse, sending an unmanned cargo ship
BAIKONUR COSMODROME: Russia has resumed rocket launches from a critical crewed mission launch pad for the first time since it was damaged in an accident last November.
Video from the Roscosmos space agency showed the unmanned Progress MS-33 cargo ship lifting off from Site 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sunday.
“The flight is normal,” a Roscosmos commentator said on the broadcast.
Site 31 is Russia’s only operational launch pad for sending cosmonauts to the International Space Station.
A section of the launch site collapsed during the lift-off of the Soyuz MS-28 mission in November, temporarily halting Russia’s crewed spaceflight capabilities.
Repairs to the damaged section were completed earlier this month, according to Roscosmos.
The Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in Kazakhstan but is leased by Russia for space operations until at least 2050.
Russia’s space programme, once a pioneering force, has faced multiple setbacks in recent decades.
These include the loss of its first lunar lander in nearly 50 years during a failed mission in 2023.
