Russia accidentally blows up its only way to send astronauts to space
Russia's space operations have just been significantly disrupted following the successful launch of a recent spacecraft, as while the astronauts departed successfully on their journey to the International Space Station, the launch pad was left in considerably worse condition.
It's unfortunately not exactly a rare occurrence to see rockets destined for space crash and explode in failure, as it's something that Elon Musk's own SpaceX has had to deal with a number of times over the years.
It's far less common, however, to see entire operations wiped out due to accidental damage though, and that's exactly why a recent fault with Russia's main space hub could end up being so damaging.
As reported by the Independent, the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was home to a recent successful spacecraft launch last Thurday, November 27, as two Russian astronauts and NASA crew member Chris Williams were sent safely on their way on board the Soyuz MS-28 to the International Space Station (ISS).
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This is a regular occurrence for the Cosmodrome, as it's currently Russia's only crewed-mission launch site available, yet that has left the nation in a lot of trouble after it was accidentally 'blown up' after the spacecraft took off.
Thankfully none of the crew members were injured or impeded following this accident, but it appears as if the launchpad itself collapsed into an exhaust trench following the rocket's powerful blast, leaving the site out of action for the foreseeable future.
Roscosmos, Russia's official government space agency, outlined that "damage to a number of elements of the launchpad" have been detected, and that "the launch complex's condition is currently being assessed."
It added that "all necessary backup components are available for the restoration, and the damage will be repaired in the near future."
There is no exact timeline for when this work will be completed though, with some analysts questioning the possibility of a quick turnaround, and it leaves one of the most powerful space agencies with no way to send its astronauts into space.
This is a particular issue when it comes to astronaut handover procedures on the ISS, as there always needs to be a team taking over from the existing crew members on board, and if repairs take considerably longer then the MS-28 crew's supposed eight-month mission might need to be extended.
"This is the only launchpad Roscosmos uses for the ISS program, and in the future it was supposed to be used for launches to the Russian Orbital Station," explains Russian space commentator Vitaliy Egorov on social media.
"In effect, from this day Russia has lost the ability to launch humans into space, something that has not happened since 1961. Now it will be necessary to quickly repair this launchpad or modernize another one."