Russia has launched a rocket from Site 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the first time since it was damaged during a lift-off last November, video from Russia’s Roscosmos space agency showed.
Site 31 was Russia’s only operational launch pad for crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
The launch pad had been out of commission since it was badly damaged in November when a Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft with two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut on board blasted off.
No one was hurt and the crew safely reached the space station, but the incident deprived Russia of its sole means of sending crew or cargo back to the ISS for months.
(L-R) Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev, along with NASA astronaut Christopher Williams are seen in the launch rocket that carried the Soyuz MS-28 last November (Credit: Roscosmos/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Repairs on the damaged section of the site wrapped up earlier this month, according to Roscosmos.
Video showed Russia launching the unmanned Progress MS-33 cargo ship to the ISS from Site 31.
“The flight is normal,” a commentator on Russia’s Roscosmos space agency said on the video.
The Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in Kazakhstan, but is being used by Russia under a lease set to last until at least 2050.
Once considered a pioneer in space exploration, Russia’s space programme has faced numerous setbacks since the fall of the Soviet Union, including the loss of its first lunar lander in almost 50 years in 2023.