Baikonur cosmodrome prepares for four launches by year-end
The Baikonur Cosmodrome is set for four space launches scheduled by the end of 2025, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The nearest launch is scheduled for November 27, 2025. According to Roscosmos, the Soyuz MS-28 manned spacecraft will launch from Baikonur's Launch Site 31 to the International Space Station (ISS) on that day.
The prime crew consists of Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, and NASA astronaut Christopher Williams. The backup crew includes Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, as well as NASA astronaut Anil Menon Samoilenko.
The final month of the year is shaping up to be the busiest one. The launch of the Proton-M launch vehicle, carrying the Elektro-L No. 5 spacecraft, is planned from Site 81 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome for December 15, 2025.
Four days later, on December 19, 2025, the Progress MS-33 transport spacecraft will depart for the ISS, carrying supplies for the crews working in orbit.
Furthermore, the new Russian Soyuz-5 rocket is to be launched from the modernized Site 45 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome on December 24, 2025, as part of the joint Kazakh-Russian Baiterek project.
Earlier, Kazinform reported that Biosatellite Bion-M No. 2 was launched from Baikonur with mice on board to land in the Orenburg steppes.
