Russia’s Soyuz-5 Rocket Achieves Historic Maiden Flight: A Milestone for Roscosmos Amid Geopolitical Challenges

Russia Test Launches New Medium-lift Soyuz-5 Rocket at Baikonur Cosmodrome

Russia Test Launches New Medium-lift Soyuz-5 Rocket at Baikonur CosmodromeA new Russian medium-class launch vehicle Soyuz-5 was launched for the first time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2 pm EDT (18:00 UTC) on Thursday, April 30, 2026, as part of its first flight tests, Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos said.The Soyuz-5 flight went well on its suborbital test. “The first and second stages of Soyuz 5 performed as planned,…

Soyuz-5: the New Russian Rocket Debuts from Baikonur

On April 30th, at 9:00 PM Moscow time, the new Soyuz-5 lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome Pad 45, the same one once used by Zenit, successfully completing its first suborbital test flight. 7:00 PM GMT, April 30, 2026: The Soyuz-5 Sunkar lifts off from Baikonur’s pad 45 for its maiden flight. Credits: Roscosmos The first two stages operated normally, and the payload simulator followed the planned trajectory until splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.…

Russia’s Soyuz-5 Rocket Achieves Historic Maiden Flight: A Milestone for Roscosmos Amid Geopolitical Challenges

On April 30, 2026, Russia successfully conducted the inaugural test flight of its new Soyuz-5 medium-lift rocket, marking a significant achievement for Roscosmos and the nation’s space program. The rocket lifted off from Site 45 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 21:00 Moscow Time (18:00 GMT, 2:00 p.m. EDT), executing a flawless suborbital test mission. Roscosmos officials declared the launch a complete success, with both stages perform…