diff --git a/docker/launch_backend_service.sh b/docker/launch_backend_service.sh
index 56f2d570..c2adb7e7 100644
--- a/docker/launch_backend_service.sh
+++ b/docker/launch_backend_service.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,27 @@
 # Exit immediately if a command exits with a non-zero status
 set -e
 
+# Function to load environment variables from .env file
+load_env_file() {
+    # Get the directory of the current script
+    local script_dir="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+    local env_file="$script_dir/.env"
+
+    # Check if .env file exists
+    if [ -f "$env_file" ]; then
+        echo "Loading environment variables from: $env_file"
+        # Source the .env file
+        set -a
+        source "$env_file" 
+        set +a
+    else
+        echo "Warning: .env file not found at: $env_file"
+    fi
+}
+
+# Load environment variables
+load_env_file
+
 # Unset HTTP proxies that might be set by Docker daemon
 export http_proxy=""; export https_proxy=""; export no_proxy=""; export HTTP_PROXY=""; export HTTPS_PROXY=""; export NO_PROXY=""
 export PYTHONPATH=$(pwd)