Russia has temporarily lost the ability to conduct crewed space launches after an accident at the Baikonur Cosmodrome during the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft.
The report came from the Telegram channel Krymsky Veter.
Russia has effectively lost the capacity to send humans into space — for the first time since 1961. Space exploration popularizer Vitaly Yegorov said the accident at Baikonur following the launch of Soyuz MS-28 caused serious damage to the launch infrastructure.
Earlier, Roscosmos confirmed that an inspection of the launch site revealed “damage to several elements of the launch pad.”
Rocket launch analyst Georgy Trishkin noted that the incident occurred at the only site from which Russia conducts its crewed missions to the International Space Station. He said that Soyuz launches may be “postponed indefinitely.”
Experts emphasize that this was the lone launch complex capable of supporting crewed missions using the Soyuz-2.1 rocket family. According to space analyst Alexander Zak, restoring the damaged launch pad could take up to two years.