Baikonur's only crew-capable pad busted after Soyuz flight
(2025/11/28)
- Reference: 1764349569
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/11/28/launchpad_damaged_soyuz/
- Source link:
The pad used by Russia to send Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) sustained damange during yesterday's crew launch, according to Roscosmos.
While the Russian space agency [1]confirmed "damage to several launch pad components" and said spares were available, it provided few specifics.
Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com and author of Russia In Space [2]provided some details and imagery of the damage, which looked more extensive than Roscosmos implied. In Zak's image, a structure he referred to as "the mobile service platform" had collapsed in the flame trench beneath the launchpad. Also called "the service cabin," the structure holds the Soyuz rocket in place until just before launch, and provides access for engineers.
[3]
It is not clear what happened after the launch, but something obviously went wrong, rendering the launchpad unusable until repairs can be carried out. According to Zak, preliminary estimates of the time required for repairs range up to two years.
[4]
[5]
The damage creates complications for ISS operations. While SpaceX could cover some crew and cargo launches, certain tasks like refueling Russian module engines require Russian spacecraft.
[6]Rosalind Franklin rover catches a break as NASA reaffirms commitment
[7]NASA pares back Boeing's Starliner deal after 2024 calamity
[8]Lifeboat docks with Tiangong after cracked capsule triggers emergency rendezvous
[9]Moss spores bolted to the ISS exterior laugh in the face of hard vacuum
Roscosmos's insistence that spares are available suggests the two-year estimate is a worst-case scenario. However, a planned December 19 launch of the next Progress freighter from the pad now appears unlikely.
The Baikonur facility, Site 31, is the only pad capable of launching crews to the ISS. Originally built to launch ICBMs, it was upgraded for Soyuz-2 rockets in 2005. A similar upgrade for Site 1 (Gagarin's Start) was cancelled - a decision Roscosmos may now regret.
Spare parts could potentially come from other pads, including a mothballed facility at Arianespace's Kourou in French Guiana.
[10]
The Register asked NASA about the implications for the ISS should the next Progress mission be delayed, but the agency has yet to respond. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://t.me/roscosmos_gk/18802
[2] https://russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_r7_31.html#cabin
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[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/27/nasa_support_exomars/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/25/nasa_starliner_contract/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/25/tiangong_astronauts_lifeboat/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/24/moss_iss/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aSopkm2OehbTn8EZkAX_xQAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
While the Russian space agency [1]confirmed "damage to several launch pad components" and said spares were available, it provided few specifics.
Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com and author of Russia In Space [2]provided some details and imagery of the damage, which looked more extensive than Roscosmos implied. In Zak's image, a structure he referred to as "the mobile service platform" had collapsed in the flame trench beneath the launchpad. Also called "the service cabin," the structure holds the Soyuz rocket in place until just before launch, and provides access for engineers.
[3]
It is not clear what happened after the launch, but something obviously went wrong, rendering the launchpad unusable until repairs can be carried out. According to Zak, preliminary estimates of the time required for repairs range up to two years.
[4]
[5]
The damage creates complications for ISS operations. While SpaceX could cover some crew and cargo launches, certain tasks like refueling Russian module engines require Russian spacecraft.
[6]Rosalind Franklin rover catches a break as NASA reaffirms commitment
[7]NASA pares back Boeing's Starliner deal after 2024 calamity
[8]Lifeboat docks with Tiangong after cracked capsule triggers emergency rendezvous
[9]Moss spores bolted to the ISS exterior laugh in the face of hard vacuum
Roscosmos's insistence that spares are available suggests the two-year estimate is a worst-case scenario. However, a planned December 19 launch of the next Progress freighter from the pad now appears unlikely.
The Baikonur facility, Site 31, is the only pad capable of launching crews to the ISS. Originally built to launch ICBMs, it was upgraded for Soyuz-2 rockets in 2005. A similar upgrade for Site 1 (Gagarin's Start) was cancelled - a decision Roscosmos may now regret.
Spare parts could potentially come from other pads, including a mothballed facility at Arianespace's Kourou in French Guiana.
[10]
The Register asked NASA about the implications for the ISS should the next Progress mission be delayed, but the agency has yet to respond. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://t.me/roscosmos_gk/18802
[2] https://russianspaceweb.com/baikonur_r7_31.html#cabin
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aSopkm2OehbTn8EZkAX_xQAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/27/nasa_support_exomars/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/25/nasa_starliner_contract/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/25/tiangong_astronauts_lifeboat/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/24/moss_iss/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aSopkm2OehbTn8EZkAX_xQAAAIg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Here in the UK
Snowy
It is more like why have two, when you can have one for twice the price.
No that is not just the current lot.
Oneman2Many
Bit of a strange one. There is a service structure under the rocket, it gets slid to the side and protected by a massive barrier during launch and all that seemed to go OK. But sometime after launch the structure slid back under and into the flame trench while flipping over. Its pretty much toast (metaphorically speaking, lol) and no chance of repairing it. The actual pad, tower, arms and everything else appear OK but I am guessing they can't launch. Apparently there is a spare at another site (maybe Vostochny ) but its not the sort of thing you can DHL over, its too big to take by road or rail and its Biakonur is pretty much in the middle of nowhere and land locked. So either transport it chopped up or build a new one locally.
Of course they always of the option of Kourou but aside from the political issues, they don't have manned capability.
"The first rule of Government spending: why have one, when you can have two at twice the price?"
- S.R. Hadden (Contact, 1997)