Marina Vasilevskaya, Belarus’ first female cosmonaut, set off on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on Saturday headed for the International Space Station (ISS), according to Roscosmos space agency.
Roscosmos said in a statement the Soyuz was launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan and went into orbit “as planned.”
The launch was delayed at the launchpad at the last moment on Thursday and Russia’s space program has suffered financial problems, as well as corruption.
Yuri Borisov, the head of Roscosmos, said a “voltage dip” occurred in a chemical power source in the final pre-launch preparations.
The Soyuz MS-25 mission set off from Baikonur space port without issues with three astronauts onboard, including Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, American Tracy Dyson, and Vasilevskaya.
The Soyuz is due to dock at the Russian segment of the ISS on Monday.
Russia’s space program has faced setbacks since the fall of the USSR and the loss of its first lunar probe in almost 50 years last August.
The Russian segment of the ISS also dealt with three coolant leaks in under a year, sending flakes of frozen coolant into space multiple times in 2023.
Space is one of the last areas of cooperation between Moscow and Washington after an almost total breakdown of relations over the past two years.
Russia said it plans to drop the ISS and construct its own space station.
Russia previously said it would quit after 2024 but it currently says it will continue as a participant until 2028.
Russian Soyuz launches were the only way to ferry astronauts between Earth and the ISS for almost ten years after NASA ceased its Space Shuttle program but the US has moved to using privately-built SpaceX rockets and capsules.
