Russia’s only crewed-mission launch site has suffered major damage following a rocket launch on Thursday.
The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan will be unable to host launches until repairs are made, according to the space agency Roscosmos, marking the first time in decades that Russia has lost the ability to send people to space.
The launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft was otherwise successful, with none of the crew members injured.
The three-person crew, which included Nasa astronaut Chris Williams and two Russian crewmates, made it safely to the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday evening.
Roscosmos shared footage of the launch, which showed part of the launchpad collapse into an exhaust trench below as a result of the rocket’s blast.
The space agency said that “damage to a number of elements of the launchpad was detected” following the launch.
“The launch complex’s condition is currently being assessed,” Roscosmos told state media. “All necessary backup components are available for restoration, and the damage will be repaired in the near future.”
The Independent has reached out to Roscosmos for more information.
Analysts have questioned the timeframe for repairs, with critical cabling, sensors and other sections of the launchpad’s service bay believed to be destroyed.
“This is the only launchpad Roscosmos uses for the ISS program, and in the future it was supposed to be used for launches to the Russian Orbital Station,” Russian space commentator Vitaliy Egorov wrote on Telegram.
“In effect, from this day Russia has lost the ability to launch humans into space, something that has not happened since 1961. Now it will be necessary to quickly repair this launchpad or modernise another one.”
The Soyuz crew will spend eight months aboard the ISS before returning to Earth in July 2026.
Russia is currently developing its own independent orbital outpost, called the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS), with the ISS set to be decommissioned in 2030.
The first ROSS module is planned for launch in 2027.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Nikki Glaser has been testing out Golden Globes jokes. There's one nobody wants to hear - 2Everyone knows F1 is for the girls. I wandered into the Las Vegas desert to find out why.
- 32024 Eurovision winner Nemo returns trophy over Israel's participation
- 4Figure out How to Explore Your Direction to the Best Dental Embed Trained professional: A Far reaching Manual
- 5NASA just launched Artemis 2. What happens today could make or break the moon mission
- Step by step instructions to Figure out the Natural Effect of 5G Pinnacles
- FDA official discusses potential link between COVID-19 vaccines and pediatric deaths
- Katz, IDF: We assassinated IRGC intelligence chief Majid Khademi
- Gov’t approves millions for border cities in North under Hezbollah fire
- Artemis 2 astronauts are about to see one of the rarest skywatching sights of all — a solar eclipse from beyond the moon
- Hezbollah rockets hit 165 UNIFIL positions in Lebanon while targeting Israel, IDF reveals
- Figure out How to Analyze Medical attendant Compensation Patterns Across Different Specializations
- Woman charged in unprovoked stabbing of tourist changing baby's diaper in Macy’s Herald Square store
- The most effective method to Connect Successfully with Teachers in a Web based Setting
