27 November 2025
During the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) at Baikonur on November 27, a service cabin collapsed. Footage from a Roscosmos broadcast confirmed this. According to a source at The Insider, the collapse involved a movable, folding structure beneath the launch pad where work is underway on the rocket’s tail section.
Rocket launch analyst Georgy Trishkin clarified that the service cabin fell under Pad 31, the only platform from which Russian manned missions to the ISS can be launched. He believes that as a result of the accident, the launches of the Soyuz and Progress spacecraft are “delayed indefinitely.”
During the post-flight inspection, it was discovered that part of the launch complex had been blown away by a gas jet from the first-stage rocket engine, the channel “Yura, Prosti” reported . According to the channel, the cosmonauts were not injured, but the structure will require repairs.
After analyzing the broadcast footage, space enthusiast Vitaly Egorov concluded that “effectively from that day on, Russia lost the ability to launch humans into space, something it hadn’t done since 1961.” According to some reports, repairs to the pad could take up to two years.
UPDATE: Roscosmos confirmed that damage to “a number of launch pad elements” was discovered during the inspection. They assured that it will be repaired soon: “all necessary spare elements are available for restoration.” An assessment of the pad’s condition is currently underway.
Egorov clarified that over the past 64 years, approximately 500 launches have been conducted from this launch pad, and since 2018, it has been the only one supporting the Russian ISS program. According to the expert, the problem can only be solved through repairs. Another option is upgrading Gagarin Pad No. 1, which has already been decommissioned and transferred to the Kazakhstan Cosmonautics Museum.
The Gagarin Start launch pad was slated for modernization back in 2018 with the participation of the United Arab Emirates, but after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Abu Dhabi abandoned its cooperation and investment in the project. “It became clear that the associated costs and complications would be much greater than we had anticipated,” explained the UAE Space Agency. The Soyuz rocket launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome is not designed for spacecraft launches.
russia has never sent men into space, they sent russians though.
😂
The mighty Russian Space program USED to be one of the most cost effective on the planet. Now they can’t even deliver men in space.
“Maybe they should use a Trampoline.”
-Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin directed at NASA.
Ironic huh?
Indeed!