Russia Unable to Send Astronauts to Space for First Time ...

By Brendan Cole

Senior News Reporter

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Damage to a Russian launch site has stopped Moscow from sending people into space for the first time in over six decades, it has been reported.

Moscow’s space agency Roscosmos said that Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan had sustained damage during a launch on Thursday carrying Russian and American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

But Russian space bloggers said the damage to Russia’s only launch site for crewed missions was more serious than authorities were claiming.

One expert, Vitaly Egorov, said if the damage is as suspected, Moscow will have lost the ability to launch people into space for the first time since it put the first human in orbit in 1961. Newsweek has contacted Roscosmos for comment.

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Why It Matters

Moscow leases Baikonur from Kazakhstan for $115 million per year and its role in launching astronauts to the ISS makes it one of the last remaining areas of collaboration between Russia and the West.

It has played a key role in space milestones, including the launch of Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, in 1961 and so reports of its damage, and the halting of manned flights to space from the site, will deliver a blow to the prestige of Russia’s space program.

What To Know

Russian media reported that there was an incident during Thursday’s launch of the Soyuz MS-28 to the ISS. The mission carrying Roscosmos astronauts Sergey Mikaev and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut, Chris William, took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 12:28 p.m. Moscow time.

The ISS said that the spacecraft successfully docked later that day and posted an image on social media of the crew in space. However, Roscosmos said that there had been damage to a number of elements of launchpad Number 31, during takeoff.

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Falling fragments had damaged the service cabin beneath the launch pad, which is used to access the rocket’s lower stages, Russian science news outlet N+1 reported.

Rocket launch analyst Georgy Trishkin said on X that the damage meant that the launch of Soyuz and Progress has now been postponed indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Russian space expert, Vitaly Egorov posted on his Telegram channel that the damage at the launch site visible during the official broadcast was of concern in a post headlined, "What fell off the launch pad at Baikonur?"

Egorov said under the launchpad, there was some massive metal structure that should not have been there and added that Russia had lost the ability to launch people into space for the first time since 1961, when Gagarin went into orbit.

What People Are Saying

Russian space expert, Vitaly Egorov: "This launch pad has been in operation since 1961, having launched approximately 500 R7-Soyuz rockets. Since 2018, it has been the sole support facility for Russia's International Space Station program. This means that from Russia has effectively lost the ability to launch humans into space, for the first time since 1961".

Georgy Trishkin on X: "There was a collapse of part of the structure of launch pad 31 at Baikonur. At the moment, this is the only launching site for Russian manned missions to the ISS."

What Happens Next

Egorov has called for the launch pad to be promptly repaired although it is unclear how much Roscosmos will reveal about this process. Meanwhile efforts to modernize the cosmodrome have faced delays due to underfunding and geopolitical uncertainty following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

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