Russia returns to orbit? A successful start from Baikonur after months of paralysis

Russia launched its first rocket on Sunday from a repaired launch pad at its Russia-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, meaning flights to the International Space Station (ISS) have been restored.

At At 13 Polish time, the Soyuz-2.1 rocket with the Progress MS-33 cargo spacecraft took off and was put into orbit, the Russian space agency reported. The spacecraft is expected to dock with the ISS on March 24.

The launch pad has been out of use since it was severely damaged during the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft carrying two Russian cosmonauts last November. No one was injured and the cosmonauts reached the ISS safely, but Russia could not send crew or cargo to the station. (PAP)

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