On Tuesday, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos announced its intention to finalize the repairs of a damaged launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan by the conclusion of February 2026.

The service cabin for the launchpad suffered damage in late November during a crewed Soyuz mission to the International Space Station. This cabin is a substantial, mobile structure that grants engineers access to the lower sections of a rocket for maintenance and fueling tasks.

Some analysts had projected that the repair period could span from six months to two years, raising alarms regarding possible interruptions to Russia’s crewed spaceflight schedule.

In its statement, Roscosmos mentioned that all necessary replacement parts and equipment for the service cabin have already arrived at Baikonur. Technicians have commenced the preparation of the cabin’s structural components, which are set to be transported to the launchpad for assembly and testing, the agency noted.

“A work schedule has been established and is under strict oversight,” Roscosmos indicated, adding that the launchpad is anticipated to be operational by the end of February.

Russia leases Baikonur from Kazakhstan for $115 million each year, a facility it has utilized since Soviet times for astronaut launches to the ISS, which remains one of the few areas of cooperation between Russia and the West.

The Soviet-era site, situated in southern Kazakhstan, was pivotal in achieving significant milestones in space exploration during the Cold War, including the historic launches of Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space in 1961, and Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space in 1963.

Initiatives to upgrade the cosmodrome have encountered delays due to ongoing underfunding and geopolitical tensions following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.