Russia's Soyuz rocket launchpad in Kazakhstan suffered a major mishap on Thursday, with a 20-ton service platform failing to secure properly and being ejected into the flame trench below. The incident occurred just before liftoff, as technicians worked to prepare the vehicle for its eight-month mission to the International Space Station.
The Russian space corporation that operates Soyuz seemed to downplay the severity of the issue in a statement, saying damage was only identified after launch and that it's not uncommon for such inspections to be done worldwide. However, video footage shows substantial damage to the launch pad, including a large service platform falling into the flame trench.
The incident has sparked concerns about Russia's commitment to its partnership with NASA on the International Space Station. With the Soyuz program critical to the station's operations, this mishap may test Russia's leadership and resolve. The country has been struggling financially since its invasion of Ukraine, and resources have been diverted from civil space capabilities.
The loss of Site 31 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, where the Soyuz rocket launched on Thursday, will only further strain SpaceX, which is currently flying NASA's sole operational crewed vehicle to the station. The company faces a busy schedule with upcoming uncrewed and crewed missions, and may now be called upon to back up Russia as well.
Russia relies heavily on its Progress cargo vehicles to resupply the space station, but these vehicles are not expected to launch for some time due to the damage at Site 31. This could have significant implications for the partnership with NASA, as US cargo supply ships may struggle to make up for the loss of Progress launches in the long term.
The incident serves as a test of Russia's resilience and commitment to its space program. As Jeff Manber, a senior Voyager Technologies official, noted, "This is a real-life test of their resilience... We are going to learn just how important the ISS is to leadership there."
The Russian space corporation that operates Soyuz seemed to downplay the severity of the issue in a statement, saying damage was only identified after launch and that it's not uncommon for such inspections to be done worldwide. However, video footage shows substantial damage to the launch pad, including a large service platform falling into the flame trench.
The incident has sparked concerns about Russia's commitment to its partnership with NASA on the International Space Station. With the Soyuz program critical to the station's operations, this mishap may test Russia's leadership and resolve. The country has been struggling financially since its invasion of Ukraine, and resources have been diverted from civil space capabilities.
The loss of Site 31 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, where the Soyuz rocket launched on Thursday, will only further strain SpaceX, which is currently flying NASA's sole operational crewed vehicle to the station. The company faces a busy schedule with upcoming uncrewed and crewed missions, and may now be called upon to back up Russia as well.
Russia relies heavily on its Progress cargo vehicles to resupply the space station, but these vehicles are not expected to launch for some time due to the damage at Site 31. This could have significant implications for the partnership with NASA, as US cargo supply ships may struggle to make up for the loss of Progress launches in the long term.
The incident serves as a test of Russia's resilience and commitment to its space program. As Jeff Manber, a senior Voyager Technologies official, noted, "This is a real-life test of their resilience... We are going to learn just how important the ISS is to leadership there."
I'm like what's goin on with Russia's space program? First it's Ukraine and now this? 
They're supposed to be launchin' a crewed mission to the ISS in 8 months, but now they gotta rely on SpaceX too?! 
That's a lot of pressure on Elon's shoulders. I hope they can get their act together soon, or else NASA's gonna be stuck flyin solo. 
But for real, 20 tons of damage? That's a major bummer. What were they even thinkin' when that service platform didn't secure properly?! 
what if this had happened during liftoff? game over for those astronauts up on the iss.
This is what I was waiting for. Another catastrophic failure from Russia's space program 
Can't believe they're trying to pass off this as no big deal 
And now SpaceX is going to have to bail Russia out because they can't get their act together 
you know what's crazy? I just saw this documentary on NASA's Artemis program and it's so cool! They're planning to return humans to the moon by 2025 
. Can you imagine walking on the lunar surface? And have you seen those SpaceX Starship prototypes? They look like they're from a sci-fi movie 
. I wonder if we'll ever see a human settlement on Mars... 
20 tons of service platform just ejected into the flame trench like what even is that?? and now Russia's space program is getting hit hard financially they were already struggling since Ukraine invasion and now this? it makes sense though, resources are being diverted to war efforts 
but still a major mishap for their space partnership with NASA esp since Soyuz is critical to ISS operations 
does anyone know what the extent of damage is tho? wanna see some vids 
. I wonder what's gonna happen next... will they get it together or is this just a major setback 
but seriously guys what's going on with Russia's space program? I mean we know they've been struggling financially since that whole Ukraine thing, but come on! 20-ton service platform just falling off a launchpad is huge 
what if they have to take on even more responsibility? 