Just under four months after Soyuz MS-28 launched from Site 31/6 at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, an eventful flight that resulted in severe damage to critical launch pad structure, the next Russian mission to the International Space Station is set for launch.
Progress MS-33, an uncrewed cargo ship loaded with over 2,500 kg of food, fuel, and other supplies for the Station, is scheduled to launch from the repaired Site 31/6 pad on Sunday, March 22, at 11:59 UTC from Baikonur, just over three months after the flight was originally scheduled to lift off.
The Progress spacecraft, derived from the Soyuz crewed vehicle, will reach the International Space Station (ISS) around two days after launch. Its docking to the Station’s Poisk module is scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, around 13:34 UTC.
Progress MS-31 docking to the Poisk module on July 5, 2025. (Credit: NASA)
The cargo ship, also known as Progress 94 by NASA, will remain docked at the Station for roughly six months before it is loaded with trash, undocked, and commanded to make a destructive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific.
Prior to Progress MS-33’s launch, Progress MS-31 undocked from the Poisk module on Monday, March 16, and deorbited to a similar destructive reentry. This cleared the way for MS-33 to dock to the module. Progress MS-32 is docked to the Zvezda module’s aft port, while Soyuz MS-28 is docked to the Rassvet module.
Progress MS-33’s path to the pad and to flight was lengthy. The cargo ship was originally scheduled to fly in December 2025, but the flight was delayed for over three months due to an incident that took place during the Soyuz MS-28 launch on Nov. 27, 2025.
Image of the collapse maintenance cabin at Site 31/6. (Credit: Kosmonavtiki Novosti)
Although MS-28’s ascent and orbital insertion went as planned, events on the ground at Site 31/6 told a different story. In addition to a number of platforms on the launch tower, which splits up and retracts before flight, there is a mobile maintenance cabin underneath the rocket that is retracted before launch as well.
That access platform, as a Roscosmos investigation found, was not properly secured, and the forces of launch caused the platform to fall into the flame trench. This fall caused severe damage and made the platform unusable. Without that platform, launches from Site 31/6 could not proceed, and there were no other available launch pads that could host Soyuz launches to ISS.
The maintenance platform is necessary to allow workers access to the lower half of the Soyuz rocket, where they can install pyrotechnics and remove protective covers.
The Progress MS-33 spacecraft during prelaunch testing. (Credit: RKK Energia)
Roscosmos scrambled to fix the pad, as without it they would not be able to supply the Russian segment with fuel, water, or other consumables that the Zvezda service module and the rest of the segment use, without assistance from partners.
An extended period of time without the pad would also have rendered the Russians unable to launch crews on their own spacecraft or to conduct orbital reboost burns from their segment.
After initial concern about the Russians’ ability to produce a new platform, Roscosmos found a spare unit built during the 1970s. The unit needed modifications to service the current pad and rocket, but Roscosmos was able to finish the work in time for a spring launch of Progress MS-33.
Site No. 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
As long as nothing further happens to make Site 31/6 unusable, Russia will now be able to fly Progress cargo ships and Soyuz crewed spacecraft to ISS. Baikonur also has another pad that was used to fly missions to the ISS in the past, Site 1/5. However, this launch pad is currently being retired.
Site 1/5, which hosted the Sputnik launch on Oct. 4, 1957, supported Yuri Gagarin’s history-making launch into space on April 12, 1961. Soyuz MS-15 was the last mission to launch from Gagarin’s Start on Sept. 25, 2019, and the Russian program emphasized developing Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russian territory rather than upgrading Gagarin’s Start at Baikonur.
In fact, Site 1/5 is now not even controlled by Russia. It is now controlled by the host nation Kazakhstan, and is planned to be transformed into a museum. In addition, Vostochny Cosmodrome does not have the necessary facilities to handle Progress cargo ships, and there is a lack of suitable abort options for Soyuz crew launches from that site.
Phase 1 of the ROSS construction. (Credit: Katya Pavlushchenko)
Site 31/6 will likely be Russia’s only launch pad capable of hosting ISS launches until the Station is decommissioned. The United States Congress recently included language in the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 to extend ISS operations until September 30, 2032, to keep the Station operational until commercial alternatives are available.
If this extension is approved, the Russian program will likely continue to use the Station until its decommissioning, and the continued ability to fly Progress and Soyuz vehicles to ISS is critical to allowing the Russian human spaceflight program to stay operational.
After the ISS is decommissioned, Russia had planned the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS) as a successor, but there are questions about its funding and status. In the meantime, the next Progress launch from Site 31/6, Progress MS-34, is scheduled for April 25. The Soyuz MS-29 crewed launch is set for July 14.
(Lead image: Progress MS-33 vehicle being lifted into position at the repaired Site 31/6 at Baikonur Cosmodrome. Credit: RKK Energia)
The post Progress MS-33 set to resume Russian flights to ISS from repaired pad appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.
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