RIA Novosti is reporting Russia plans to use two launch pads at the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan to launch four manned missions to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2009, this attributed to a Russian space agency official's statements last Monday.

Four Soyuz manned spacecraft and five Progress freighters will be launched from Baikonur to the orbital station in 2009. The ISS crew is to be increased in number from three to six. "The situation in 2009 is unique," said Alexei Krasnov, director of manned flight programs at Roscosmos. "In line with international agreements and the current market demand for space launches, Russia will launch four manned spacecraft to the ISS rather than two, and will have to send enough Progress space freighters to support the work of astronauts in orbit." The official said the main launch pad at Baikonur was not sufficient to carry out this task. Roscosmos has modernized the launch pad No. 31 to allow additional launches. The next Progress freighter launch will be carried out from launch pad No. 31 on February 10th and the first Soyuz spacecraft will lift off from the pad later this year. Despite the global financial crisis, Russia is hoping to establish a world record by conducting 39 space launches during 2009.