Russian Launch Site Mishap Leaves Country’s Space Program in Limbo Written 2 December 2025
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The Soyuz-2.1 rocket booster with Soyuz MS-28 space ship carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev to the ISS, blasts off from the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. | Credit: Roscosmos space corporation, via AP–©
The New York Times reports, “The launchpad Russia uses for sending astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station is out of commission after a mishap last week during the liftoff of a Soyuz rocket. The rocket itself headed to space without incident, taking three astronauts — Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev of Russia and Chris Williams of NASA — to the space station. But the force of the rocket’s exhaust shoved a service platform used for prelaunch preparations out of its protective shelter. The platform fell into the flame trench below.”
Full Story (New York Times – subscription publication)