A Soyuz rocket was launched on Thursday, carrying Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, in addition to NASA astronaut Christopher Williams. The mission's objective is to spend eight months at the International Space Station (ISS), and the crew safely arrived at the orbiting laboratory without any incident.
Despite the successful launch, a critical issue was encountered on the ground concerning the systems that support rocket processing prior to liftoff at Site 31, situated at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
In a concise statement released Thursday night on the social media platform Telegram, the Russian space corporation responsible for operating Soyuz seemed to minimize the incident: âThe launch pad was inspected, as it is with every rocket launch. Damage to several components of the launch pad was noted. Such damage can occur after a launch, so these inspections are a worldwide standard. The current condition of the launch pad is being evaluated.â
âSignificantâ damage
Nonetheless, video footage of the launch site post-liftoff revealed extensive damage, with a substantial service platform appearing to have fallen into the flame trench beneath the launch table. Sources indicate that this platform is situated beneath the rocket, providing access to the vehicle before liftoff. Weighing about 20 metric tons, it was apparently not secured before launch, and the rocket's thrust propelled it into the flame trench. âThere is significant damage to the pad,â stated a source.
Although Russia has numerous launch pads available in both Russia and neighboring countries, including Kazakhstanâa region formerly part of the Soviet UnionâSite 31 at Baikonur is currently the sole pad configured to facilitate the launches of the Soyuz rocket and two essential spacecraft for the space station: the cargo-only Progress vehicle and the Soyuz crew capsule.