Russia Launches Rocket to ISS After Launchpad Repair | Space News

An unmanned Progress MS-33 cargo ship launched successfully from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sunday, marking Russia’s first launch from a key pad since damage sustained during a November 2025 incident forced its closure. The launch restores Russia’s ability to regularly send cargo and, eventually, crew to the International Space Station (ISS).

The Progress MS-33, carrying approximately three tons of supplies including food, fuel, and equipment for repairs, lifted off from Site 31/6 at 11:59 UTC, according to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Docking with the ISS is scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, around 13:34 UTC, to the Poisk module.

Site 31 is Russia’s only operational launch pad for crewed missions to the ISS. The pad sustained damage during the November 2025 launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, when part of the launch site collapsed during lift-off. While the crew of Soyuz MS-28 reached the ISS safely, the incident temporarily halted Russian launches from the pad.

Repairs to the damaged section of Site 31 were completed earlier this month, Roscosmos reported. The resumption of launches from the pad is a critical step in restoring regular Russian space operations. According to NASA Spaceflight, modifications were needed to the unit to service the current pad and rocket, but Roscosmos completed the work in time for the spring launch of Progress MS-33.

A minor issue arose during the launch when one of the two Kurs antennae on the Progress MS-33 failed to deploy. If the antenna cannot be deployed, Expedition 74 commander Sergei Kud-Sverchkov will manually dock the spacecraft to the ISS using remote equipment aboard the station, Roscosmos stated.

The Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in Kazakhstan and is leased to Russia until at least 2050. Russia’s space program has faced challenges in recent years, including the loss of its Luna-25 lunar lander in 2023. Progress MS-33 is expected to remain docked at the ISS for roughly six months before being loaded with trash and intentionally deorbited for a destructive reentry over the South Pacific.

Prior to the launch of Progress MS-33, the Progress MS-31 spacecraft undocked from the Poisk module on March 16 and too deorbited, clearing the way for the new cargo ship to dock. Progress MS-32 remains docked to the Zvezda module, and Soyuz MS-28 is docked to the Rassvet module.