
A launch pad at Russia’s main space complex was damaged during Thursday’s launch of a mission carrying two Russians and an American to the International Space Station, Moscow’s space agency announced.
The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft successfully docked with the space station and the three crew members had boarded, Roscosmos said.
But a post-launch inspection at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan revealed “damage to several elements of the launch pad,” according to a statement from Roscosmos, which still uses the space facility in its former Soviet neighbor.
“An assessment of the condition of the launch complex is currently underway,” it said, adding that all parts needed to repair the pad are available.
“The damage will be repaired in the near future.”
The launch pad contains support systems for the rocket and a structure that allows cosmonauts to access their capsule as it sits atop a Soyuz rocket.
Launch pads must be capable of withstanding extreme heat, air pressure and vibrations as a rocket takes flight.
Russian analysts said repairs to the launch pad could take a week or longer. And any lengthy delay could leave Russia unable to launch missions to the space station, they said.
“In the worst case this could seriously affect the rotation of crewed missions and cargo flights to the ISS,” analyst and blogger Georgy Trishkin wrote on Telegram.
Typically, ISS crew are launched roughly every six months from Baikonur.
“This is the only launch pad Roscosmos uses for the ISS program, and in the future it was supposed to be used for launches to the Russian Orbital Station,” 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 launch table or modernize another one,” Egorov wrote.
Besides Russia’s Soyuz craft, NASA uses SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to take crew to the ISS.
The three men aboard the mission that lifted off Thursday join seven other crew already orbiting on the ISS.
Three are scheduled to return to Earth by December 8, according to NASA.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
latest_posts
- 1
Polls open in tense Uganda election amid widespread delays - 2
Amplifying Cash The executives: The Upsides and downsides of Various Ledgers - 3
Independence from the rat race: How to Save and Contribute Shrewdly - 4
Eurovision Song Contest changes voting rules after controversial allegations against Israel - 5
Andrew McCarthy's awe-inspiring image of a skydiver in front of the sun
Chris Noth responds to backlash after seemingly shading 'Sex and the City' costar Sarah Jessica Parker: 'It is not news'
Holiday spots Well known With Americans In 2024
Cocoa Prices Settle Lower on Expectations of Adequate Supplies
Astonishing interstellar comet captured in new images by NASA Mars missions
The most effective method to Recognize a Great Lab Jewel
The Most Compelling Books of the 10 years
Unwinding the Starting points of America: An Excursion Through History
Blue Origin launches New Glenn rocket on company's first NASA-scale science mission
How to get rid of your Christmas tree — and the 1 thing to never, ever do with it













