World
The launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan suffered significant damage during the launch of a Soyuz rocket carrying a Russian-American crew to the International Space Station.
Pavel Mikheyev
The Baikonur Cosmodrome platform, located in Kazakhstan and the only one that allows Russia to launch manned space rockets, was damaged this Thursday in a launch accident, reported the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
“We have identified damage to several components” of the launch platform, Roscosmos wrote on social media, after inspecting the facilities. The accident took place during the launch of a Soyuz rocket carrying a Russian-American crew to the International Space Station.
The space agency assured, however, that “all reserve equipment is available for repair” and that the launch platform will be restored “as quickly as possible”.
Cited by AFP, specialized Russian blogs indicate, however, that Russia will be unable to carry out manned launches at Baikonur for a long period, as the damage to the facilities during the launch was significant.
The Soyuz MS-38 mission, carrying Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikhailev, as well as American astronaut Chris Williams, launched from Baikonur this morning.
The spacecraft later docked with the International Space Station (ISS) without damage, according to Roscosmos. Space is one of the few areas in which cooperation between Russia and the United States has been maintained since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.
