🔥 Soyuz Disaster! Timeline Shattered 🚀😱

Tech & Science

A Soyuz rocket launched on Thursday, carrying Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, alongside NASA astronaut Christopher Williams, for an eight-month mission to the International Space Station. The three astronauts successfully arrived at the orbiting laboratory without incident. However, following the launch, a significant problem arose with the ground systems supporting the vehicle’s processing at Site 31, located within the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. In a brief statement released on the Telegram social media site that evening, Roscosmos appeared to minimize the issue: “The launch pad was inspected, as is standard procedure for all rocket launches. Damage to several launch pad components was identified, which can occur after launch and necessitates inspections worldwide.” Nevertheless, video footage of the launch site immediately after liftoff revealed substantial damage, including a large service platform—approximately 20 metric tons in mass—that had fallen into the flame trench below the launch table. A source indicated that this platform, typically used by workers to access the vehicle prior to liftoff, was not secured before launch and was subsequently ejected by the rocket’s thrust. “There is significant damage to the pad,” the source stated.

Russia is currently relying on Site 31 at Baikonur to handle launches of the Soyuz rocket and its two critical spacecraft: the cargo-only Progress vehicle and the Soyuz crew capsule. This site remains the only pad configured to accommodate these launches, particularly given that the historic Site 1—where Yuri Gagarin, the first human to travel to space, launched—has been decommissioned and is now being transformed into a museum. “There is significant damage to the pad,” noted a source. Due to budgetary constraints, Russia has reduced the number of crewed Soyuz missions to the International Space Station (ISS) from four every two years to three. Now, considerable resources are being devoted to the Soyuz program, which is vital to the ISS. “This is a real-life test of their resilience,” said Jeff Manber, a senior Voyager Technologies official and former Nanoracks chief executive with extensive experience in Russia’s space program. “We are going to learn just how important the ISS is to leadership there.”

Thanksgiving in the United States has arrived, and as of now, NASA has not addressed the implications of damage sustained at Site 31 in Kazakhstan. However, a source familiar with the agency’s relationship with Russia indicated multiple concerns. Long-term, as Manber noted, this incident will test Russia’s commitment to the partnership; in the near term, the lack of Progress launches is a key worry. These cargo vehicles are vital, not only supplying the Russian segment of the International Space Station with essential supplies, but also serving as the primary means to reboost the station’s altitude. Furthermore, they support the Russian thruster attitude control system, which operates in conjunction with the US control moment gyroscopes to maintain the station’s orientation. Notably, the Russian system “desaturates” the US gyroscopes by removing their excess angular momentum. A docked vehicle could theoretically accomplish this task, but at a significant fuel cost, according to the source. Moreover, US cargo supply ships—SpaceX’s Dragon and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus—have also demonstrated the capability to reboost the station. However, it remains uncertain whether these vehicles could fully compensate for the loss of Progress vehicles. According to an internal schedule, at least two Progress vehicles are slated to launch between now and July 2027, followed by the next crewed Soyuz mission next summer. The extended absence of Site 31 will undoubtedly place increased pressure on SpaceX, which currently operates NASA’s only cargo delivery system.

Operational crewed vehicles, including Boeing’s Starliner, are designed to reach the space station; however, the space agency recently announced that Starliner will require an uncrewed mission before crewed flights can resume. Currently, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is the sole rocket available for launching both Dragon and Cygnus supply missions to the space station. Furthermore, SpaceX may now be tasked with providing support to Russia due to ongoing rocket issues.