
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
EU agrees on agriculture safeguards as fronts harden in Mercosur deal - 2
At least 36 dead in major fire in Hong Kong residential blocks - 3
UN chief warns he could refer Israel to ICJ over laws targetting UNRWA - 4
Six Flags Opens the Tallest, Fastest and Longest Roller Coaster in the World - 5
The Leonid meteor shower is peaking early this week. Here’s what to know
Tech Patterns 2023: 12 Advancements to Keep an eye Out For
Top 10 Books That Will Have an impact on Your Viewpoint
Chemical leak in Oklahoma forces evacuations and leaves many ill
Space Condos to Lift Your Metropolitan Living
What to know about King Charles III's cancer treatment and his message to the public
Figure out How to Adjust Work, Life, and an Internet based Degree
New research reveals urban raccoons across the US show early signs of domestication
How to watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' for less with this Apple TV Black Friday deal
Scientist turns people’s mental images into text using ‘mind-captioning’ technology













