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Progress-MS refueling system

INSIDER CONTENT

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ISS in 2025

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Progress MS-34 to resupply ISS

The second Russian cargo mission to the ISS in 2026 lifted off from Baikonur on April 26, just 35 days after Progress MS-33 headed to the station from a repaired launch pad at Site 31. The tight schedule was designed to restore the flow of supplies to the outpost after the interruption by the launch pad accident in November 2025.

Previous cargo mission: Progress MS-33

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Progress MS-34 mission at a glance:

Progress MS-34 mission

According to Roskosmos, the Progress MS-34 carried "more than 2.5 tons" of supplies to the International Space Station, ISS, including 1,348 kilograms of dry cargo in the pressurized compartment, among it 483 kilograms of food, 333 kilogrmas of sanitary and hyigene items, 311 kilograms of upgrade and repair gear, 146 kilograms of personal protection equipment, 75 kilograms of medical equipment and scientific gear. The refueling section (INSIDER CONTENT) also carried 700 kilograms of propellant, 420 kilograms of water and 50 kilograms of oxygen.

The most prominent item loaded into the pressurized cargo section of the vehicle was the Orlan-MKS suit No. 8 to support spacewalks from the Russian Segment of the station.

The scientific equipment included materials for a number of ongoing long-term scientific studies on the ISS (INSIDER CONTENT), namely Virtual, Neiroimmunitet, Biodegradatsiya and Separatsiya, Roskosmos said.

Progress MS-34 launch campaign

Progress MS-34 is being installed inside the anechoic chamber at Site 254 on March 11, 2026, for radio system's checks.

The Progress MS-34 mission was initially planned for July 2026, but by 2025, it was advanced to Feb. 11, 2026. By October 2025, the launch slipped to March 25, 2026, at 13:48 Moscow Time. After the launch pad damage at Site 31 during the launch of Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on Nov. 27, 2025, the mission was postponed until April 26, 2026, at 01:21 Moscow Time.

The active preparations for the Progress MS-34 launch started in Baikonur on March 11, 2026, when specialists from RKK Energia and KTs Yuzhny branch of Roskosmos' ground infrastructure division, TsENKI, moved the cargo ship in the anechoic chamber at Site 254 for radio systems' checks. Operations with Progress MS-34 inside the Spacecraft Processing Building at Site 254 overlapped with the processing for the proceeding Progress MS-33 mission, resulting from the effort to make up the ISS re-supply schedule, which was disrupted by the November 2025 accident at Site 31.

The vacuum testing of Progress MS-34 was completed by March 23, 2026, and the spacecraft was loaded with propellant and pressurized gasses by April 15, 2026.

On April 20, specialists performed final visual inspection of the spacecraft after which it was rolled inside its payload fairing and on April 21, it was transferred from Site 254 to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Site 31 for integration with the Soyuz-2-1a rocket on April 22. The fully integrated vehicle with the cargo ship was then rolled out to the launch pad on the morning of April 23, 2026.

Progress MS-34 during fueling operations in Baikonur around April 15, 2026.

Progress MS-34 launch profile

Following a vertical liftoff under the combined thrust of the four RD-107 engines on the first stage and the single RD-108 of the second (core) stage, the launch vehicle headed eastward from Baikonur matching its ground track to an orbit inclined 51.67 degrees to the plane of the Equator.

The four first-stage boosters separated 1 minute 58 seconds after liftoff, at an altitude of around 43 kilometers, followed by the split and drop of the two halves of the payload fairing slightly more than a minute later (3 minutes and 3 seconds into the flight), at an altitude of around 91 kilometers, just above the dense atmosphere and around 200 kilometers downrange. In the meantime, the second stage continued firing until 4 minutes and 47 seconds into the flight, bringing the vehicle to around 143 kilometers above the planet and a speed of around four kilometers per second, some 500 kilometers downrange from the launch site.

The third stage ignited moments before the separation of the second stage, firing its RD-0110 engine through a lattice structure connecting the two boosters and ensuring a continuous thrust during the separation process. A fraction of a second later, the boosters of the second and third stage parted ways and the aft cylindrical section of the third stage split into three segments and dropped off, ensuring the fall of the second stage and the aft section into the same area on the ground.

The third stage completed firing its engine and releasee the cargo ship into an initial parking orbit around 8 minutes 49 seconds after liftoff, at an altitude of around 193 kilometers.

Progress MS-34 rendezvous profile

After a two-day autonomous flight, Progress MS-34 is scheduled to dock at the ISS on April 28, 2026, at 03:01:16 Moscow Time (8:01 p.m. EDT on April 27).

This page is maintained by Anatoly Zak; last update: April 25, 2026

Page editor: Alain Chabot

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Progress MS-34 undergoes solar panel testing in early April 2026. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

Progress MS-34 under its payload fairing is being prepared for a transfer to the vehicle assembly building for integration with its rocket on April 21, 2026, as Progress MS-35 cargo ship (on the background) goes through its paces in preparation for launch on Sept. 9, 2026. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

A Soyuz-2-1a rocket with Progress MS-34 is ready for rollout to the launch pad after completion of final assembly at Site 31 on April 22, 2026. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

Soyuz-2-1a rocket with Progress MS-34 rolls out from the vehicle assembly building on its way to the launch pad on April 23, 2026. Click to enlarge. Credit: Roskosmos

Progress MS-34 separates from the third stage of the launch vehicle as seen by an onboard camera. Credit: Roskosmos