A Soyuz-2.1a rocket with the Progress MS-33 transport ship launched successfully from Baikonur on Sunday, March 22nd.
Russian Rocket Launches from Baikonur
A Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying the Progress MS-33 transport spacecraft has been launched and placed into orbit, according to the Russian space agency.
The spacecraft is estimated to dock with the International Space Station on March 24th.
Baikonur Launchpad Repairs Completed
The Baikonur Cosmodrome launchpad had been out of service since sustaining serious damage in November of last year. A portion of the platform collapsed during the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft carrying two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut.
No one was injured, and the crew safely reached the space station, but the incident left Russia without a means of sending crew or cargo back to the ISS for several months.
Sole Platform for Crewed Missions
Although Russia has other cosmodromes within its territory, and Baikonur has other launch pads, the damaged launchpad was the only one capable of handling Soyuz rockets carrying crew capsules and Progress cargo vehicles to the ISS.
Orbán’s Impact on Ukraine’s Reputation
András Biró-Nagy, a Hungarian political scientist and director of the PolicySolutions research institute, stated in an interview with “Wyborcza” that Orbán has damaged Ukraine and Zelenskyy’s reputation to the level of Putin’s.
