NASA Responds to Russia Accidentally Blowing Up Its Only Astronaut Launch Facility
Victor Tangermann
created: Dec. 2, 2025, 5:22 p.m. | updated: Dec. 12, 2025, 4:44 p.m.
The launch pad of Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome spaceport in Kazakhstan sustained significant damage following a botched Soyuz launch last week.
It’s a significant setback, because the damaged pad is Russia’s only certified launch site for crewed missions to space.
Apart from Russia’s Soyuz capsules, the only other currently available method to fly astronauts to the orbital outpost is SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
“NASA is aware Roscosmos is inspecting Launch Pad 6 at Site 31 following launch of the Soyuz MS-28 on November 27 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan,” a NASA spokesperson told Futurism in a statement.
“How committed is the Russian leadership to fixing that launchpad and continuing the contributions to the International Space Station program?” Voyager Technologies senior official Jeff Manber told the New York Times.
2 months, 1 week ago: Futurism