Author's Summary
Roscosmos confirmed serious blast damage to Baikonur's launchpad—Russia's sole crewed launch site—during a Thursday rocket liftoff, with footage revealing a collapsed service bay in the exhaust trench, potentially halting missions until repairs. (147 characters)
Incident Overview
Russia launched three astronauts from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday, but the event caused significant harm to the pad. Roscosmos verified the damage to Site 31/6, the nation's only facility for crewed missions to the ISS.
Damage Details
Official footage captured the service bay—housing cabling, sensors, and technician access—falling into the exhaust trench during blastoff. Pre-launch shots showed the trench empty, while post-launch images revealed charred debris. Roscosmos noted harm to multiple pad elements without detailing severity.
"Damage to a number of elements of the launch pad was detected. An assessment of the state of the launch complex is being conducted now."
Operational Impact
This 1960s-era pad supports Soyuz flights roughly every six months. Experts warn it could suspend Russia's human spaceflight for the first time since 1961, pending fixes or upgrades elsewhere. Roscosmos claims restoration will occur soon.
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