Russia Launches Rocket From Repaired Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 31

Russia’s Roscosmos space agency successfully launched an unmanned Progress MS-33 cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday from Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, marking the first launch from the pad since a partial collapse during a previous liftoff in November.

Video released by Roscosmos showed the launch proceeding normally, with a commentator stating, “The flight is normal.” Site 31 is Russia’s sole operational launch pad for crewed missions to the ISS. The November 2023 incident, involving the Soyuz MS-28 mission, forced a temporary halt to launches from the site although repairs were undertaken.

According to Roscosmos, the repairs to the damaged section of Site 31 were completed earlier this month. The Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in Kazakhstan and is leased to Russia until at least 2050.

The launch comes as Russia’s space program continues to navigate challenges following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In 2023, Russia experienced the failure of its Luna-25 lunar lander, its first attempt at a lunar mission in nearly 50 years. Roscosmos was established in 1992, evolving from the Soviet space program and undergoing restructuring in 1999 and 2004. Currently, Dmitry Bakanov serves as the General Director of Roscosmos.

Russia is as well developing plans for its own orbital station, with the Scientific and Technical Council of Roscosmos approving a proposal to utilize modules from the ISS in its construction, according to reports from December 2025.