Engineers have repaired a badly damaged launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome, Russia's space agency said, averting a potentially longer-term problem for supplying the International Space Station.
In a statement on March 3, Roscosmos said workers swapped out damaged wiring and other equipment at the pad -- known as Baikonur 31/6 -- ahead of schedule.
The agency said a Progress cargo capsule was scheduled to blast off on March 22.
The facility suffered a still unexplained mishap last November during the launch of a Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians and one American to the orbiting station. Officials said a component called a maintenance or service cabin failed to move out from under the blast of exhaust from the ascending rocket.
The pad is the only location where Russia can launch its manned Soyuz capsules, which are a mainstay transport and cargo vehicle for the station, known as the ISS.
Russia's Progress cargo capsules are also used to help orient the space station, and adjust its orbit.
In recent years, private Western space companies like SpaceX have come into full service, signing contracts with the US space agency NASA to shuttle humans and cargo back and forth to the station. That's taken some of the burden off of the Soyuz capsules and the Baikonur facility.
Russia's storied space program has suffered a series of embarrassing incidents in past years, including a still-unexplained man-made hole found on a Russian-built module at the station; an emergency landing of crew members returning to Earth; and a scandal involving the demotion of a respected cosmonaut.
