The long-awaited maiden launch of the Soyuz-5 (Sunkar) rocket has successfully taken place, marking a major milestone for the upgraded space infrastructure at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The rocket lifted off late Thursday (April 30) from the modernized Baiterek launch complex, completing its first test flight and signaling the operational debut of the upgraded system, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

The Soyuz-5, also known as Sunkar, carried a mock payload during the launch. The rocket was transported on March 31 by rail from the assembly and testing facility at Site 42 within Baikonur and installed vertically on the launch pad at Site 45, where it underwent nearly a month of integrated testing.

The test flight followed a suborbital trajectory and did not deploy any payload into orbit. Engineers focused on evaluating the performance of the launch infrastructure, rocket engines, onboard systems, and flight software under real launch conditions.

The project is part of the Baiterek Space Rocket Complex, a joint initiative between Kazakhstan and Russia aimed at modernizing Baikonur’s launch capabilities and introducing environmentally cleaner rocket fuel technologies.