According to Moscow’s Roscosmos space agency, Marina Vasilevskaya, the first female cosmonaut from Belarus, was on board a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that launched on Saturday towards the International Space Station.

The spacecraft named Soyuz launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan at 1236 GMT according to a statement from Roscosmos. The statement stated that the craft successfully entered its planned orbit.

At first, the take-off was planned for Thursday but it was ultimately postponed right before incurring another setback for Russia’s space program, which has been facing issues like financial troubles, scandal, corruption, and unsuccessful attempts.

The head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, stated that there was a decrease in power supply during the last steps of preparation before launch.

However, the Soyuz MS-25 launched from Baikonur spaceport on Saturday without any evident issues. The spacecraft is carrying three astronauts, including experienced Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, Tracy Dyson from the United States, and the 33-year-old Vasilevskaya.

According to Roscosmos, Novitsky reported that all was well on board shortly after liftoff in a video broadcast.

The Soyuz spacecraft was scheduled to connect with the Russian section of the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday.

The space program of Moscow, which was once innovative, has encountered numerous challenges since claiming victory in the initial phase of the space race over 60 years ago.

The program has suffered since the collapse of the Soviet Union, including with the loss of its first lunar probe in almost 50 years last August.

The Russian sector of the International Space Station (ISS) experienced three instances of coolant leaks within a year, resulting in frozen coolant flakes being dispersed into space on multiple occasions in 2023.

Amid a significant deterioration in relations between Moscow and Washington over the past two years, space remains one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between the United States and Russia.

However, Russia has announced its intention to leave the ISS and construct its own space station.

Previously, it was mentioned that Russia would withdraw “after 2024,” but the current stance is that they will continue as a participant until 2028.

For nearly ten years, Russian Soyuz missions were the sole method of transporting astronauts from Earth to the ISS following the discontinuation of NASA’s Space Shuttle program.

However, the US has transitioned to utilizing SpaceX rockets and capsules developed by private companies, putting an end to Russia’s exclusive control over crewed launches.