Russia successfully launched its first rocket from a repaired Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan on Sunday, marking the restoration of its ability to reach the International Space Station. The launch pad had been damaged since November, leaving Russia without its primary means of sending crews and cargo to the ISS for several months.
Russian space officials achieved a significant milestone Sunday when they successfully launched a spacecraft from their newly repaired Baikonur facility in Kazakhstan, marking the first time since last year that the country could access the International Space Station from this critical launch site.
The Soyuz-2.1a rocket, carrying the Progress MS-33 cargo vessel, took flight at 1200 GMT and successfully reached orbit, according to Russia’s space agency. Officials expect the cargo spacecraft to arrive at the International Space Station on March 24.
The Baikonur launch facility had remained unusable since sustaining significant damage in November during the departure of Soyuz MS-28, which carried two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut. Although the crew members reached the space station without injury, the launch caused extensive damage that left Russia unable to transport personnel or supplies to the ISS for several months.
Despite Russia operating additional space facilities within its borders and Baikonur housing multiple launch sites, this particular damaged platform served as the exclusive launch point for Soyuz rockets that transport both crew capsules and Progress supply vehicles to the space station.
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