NASA's Reaction to Russia Accidentally Destroying Its Sole Astronaut Launch Site

The launch facility at Russias Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan suffered extensive damage after last weeks Soyuz MS-28 mission. Despite the accident, the crew, consisting of cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev, along with NASA astronaut Christopher Williams, successfully reached the International Space Station.

Footage captured by drones revealed the platforms mobile maintenance cabin overturned inside the flame trench. Experts have indicated that repairing the pad could take months or even years, presenting a major challenge since it is Russias sole certified launch site for crewed missions.

NASA has officially acknowledged the incident, highlighting its close cooperation with Roscosmos in maintaining International Space Station operations, even amid tense US-Russia relations. Apart from Soyuz, SpaceXs Dragon remains the only alternative currently available for transporting astronauts to the orbital station.

A NASA spokesperson confirmed to Futurism: NASA is aware Roscosmos is inspecting Launch Pad 6 at Site 31 following the launch of Soyuz MS-28 on November 27 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA coordinates closely with its international partners, including Roscosmos, for the safe operations of the International Space Station and its crew members.

The agency verified that the MS-28 crew arrived safely at the station but did not provide details on whether the damage will affect upcoming missions, deferring inquiries to Roscosmos, which had not responded at press time.

Roscosmos, in a Telegram statement on November 27, acknowledged damage to a number of elements of the launchpad but assured that all the necessary reserve elements are there to restore it and the damage will be eliminated very soon.

Despite these assurances, the mishap is expected to complicate NASA and Roscosmos plans for maintaining ISS operations ahead of its planned retirement. A future Progress cargo resupply mission has been postponed from December 21 to next year, and the next crewed Soyuz flight is now tentatively set for July 2026.

Russias commitment to sustaining operations on the aging space station has been uncertain, particularly following the geopolitical fallout from its invasion of Ukraine. In 2024, former Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov pledged support for ISS operations until at least 2028, reversing earlier warnings from Dmitry Rogozin about potentially abandoning the program.

Jeff Manber, a senior executive at Voyager Technologies, told the New York Times, How committed is the Russian leadership to fixing that launchpad and continuing contributions to the International Space Station program? Its going to be extremely interesting to see how indeed they respond.

Author: Sophia Brooks