Russia’s Soyuz-5 Rocket Launch Delayed: What It Means for Space Ambitions
Another timeline slips—Russia's next-gen Soyuz-5 rocket won't fly this year.
Behind the Schedule
Technical hurdles and supply chain snags forced the postponement. The debut, once slated for 2025, now drifts into the unknown. Roscosmos stays quiet on the new date, fueling speculation about deeper issues in the program.
Geopolitical Launchpad
The delay isn't just engineering—it's strategic. Soyuz-5 is meant to carry a new crewed spacecraft, a key piece in Russia's plan for an independent orbital station. Every month of slippage is a month China and private firms gain ground.
Market Trajectory
For investors, it's a familiar story: big promises, missed deadlines, and capital circling the drain. The space race, much like crypto, runs on hype and hardware—when the latter fails, the former evaporates. Russia's aerospace sector just gave a masterclass in delayed gratification.
What is the launch of the Soyuz-5 rocket delayed?
Roscosmos, Russia’s state space corporation, announced that Russia and Kazakhstan have delayed the first launch of the Soyuz-5 rocket, a potential competitor to SpaceX’s commercial space operations, due to the need for additional testing of its onboard systems and ground equipment.
The Soyuz-5 was scheduled to lift off before the end of 2024 from the newly constructed Baiterek complex at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. But now, a new launch date will be determined after all necessary tests are completed and program participants finalize coordination.
The Baiterek project is a joint venture between Russia and Kazakhstan, which makes use of the facilities at Baikonur and has served as a primary launch site for the Russian space program for decades.
The Soyuz-5 program encountered initial setbacks when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, resulting in international sanctions. These sanctions restricted access to certain technologies and components critical for space systems development.
Russia then launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, resulting in even more sanctions from Western nations.
These restrictions have affected not only the rocket’s development timeline but also hindered Russia’s space industry’s capacity to maintain its technological advancement.
What other problems is Russia’s space program experiencing?
In late November, a launch pad at Baikonur sustained damage during a rocket launch carrying crew members to the International Space Station. The incident temporarily halted crewed flights from that facility, and Roscosmos announced that the repairs will be completed by the end of February 2026, a one-year postponement from the initial February 2025 schedule.
On November 27, the program suffered its most substantial challenge during the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft to the ISS. A service module fairing malfunctioned, prompting Roscosmos to suspend all crewed launches.
The suspension affects Russia’s commitments to the International Space Station and represents a critical blow to the country’s reputation as a reliable partner in human spaceflight.
Additionally, a Proton-M launch vehicle that was scheduled for December 15 from Baikonur did not take place. The Proton-M series has been a workhorse for Russian commercial and government satellite launches.
Despite these setbacks, on December 25, a Soyuz 2.1a launch vehicle successfully lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, and another Soyuz launch is planned for December 28 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome.
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