Soyuz-5 rocket to be launched soon — Roscosmos CEO

MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. The Soyuz-5 rocket has been put in a vertical position at the Baikonur Spaceport and will be launched soon, Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov said. "In 2025, we completed the development of the Soyuz-5 rocket. We conducted all the necessary tests. It is now in a vertical position at the Baikonur Spaceport. <...> And I think that in the very near future you will hear news about how we will carry out this work," he said at the Space with Knowledge educational marathon organized by Roscosmos and the Znanie Society as part of Russia’s Space Week. At the end of January, Dmitry Baranov, Roscosmos Deputy Director General for Rocket Projects, announced that the first launch of the Soyuz-5 carrier rocket vehicle is expected at the end of March 2026 from the Baikonur Spaceport. Previously, the Soyuz-5 launch was planned for the end of 2025. The launch date was then rescheduled to allow for additional testing of both the onboard systems and ground equipment. Soyuz-5 is a medium-class carrier rocket developed and manufactured by the Samara-based Progress Rocket and Space Center. Designed to launch unmanned spacecraft into various low-Earth orbits, including using upper stages, it is a two-stage launch vehicle with a sequential arrangement of stages. It utilizes reliable and flight-proven solutions, and the rocket is safe for the environment thanks to the use of environmentally friendly rocket propellant components. The first-ever Russian Space Week is taking place from April 6-12, 2026, and is timed to coincide with the 65th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s legendary space flight. The decree establishing this annual event was signed by the Russian president on December 29, 2025. Roscosmos is the organizer. TASS is the media partner of Space Week 2026.