
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
Which Startup's Innovation Could Reform Medical care? - 2
Why some African countries are prone to military takeovers - 3
Tasting America: An Excursion Through Darling Cheap Food Brands - 4
Toyota’s Next Big Sports Car Might Apparently Be a Turbocharged All-Paw Beast - 5
Here's what can happen if you drive under the influence of pot
5 things for parents to know about changes to kids vaccine schedule
Could the Star of Bethlehem have actually been a comet?
NASA's Artemis II launch leaves Americans in awe: 'We're going back to the frickin' moon!'
Boeing's troubled capsule won't carry astronauts on next space station flight
Collierville residents with no power as temperatures plunge
Trump said affordability is a ‘hoax’ in his Pennsylvania speech. What do the latest numbers show?
IDF kills four terrorists equipped with weapons, surveillance gear near Gaza's Yellow Line
EU health regulator urges immediate vaccinations amid early surge in flu cases
How did Hugh Jackman nail his latest role? Sequins, tighty-whities and embracing 'zero embarrassment.'













