Overview
- Roscosmos confirmed damage to the Soyuz launch complex at Baikonur Site 31/6 after the Nov. 27 liftoff that sent three crew members to the International Space Station.
- Imagery shows a heavy service platform was pushed from its shelter by exhaust and fell into the flame trench, which experts say left it heavily damaged.
- With Vostochny and Plesetsk not configured for crewed Soyuz flights to the ISS, Russia currently lacks an operational site to launch astronauts.
- Analysts estimate repairs could take months to more than a year, and fabrication of a new platform could take longer, while NASA says station operations remain supported for now.
- Separately, Roscosmos replaced Oleg Artémiev on a planned SpaceX Crew Dragon mission, and a Russian analyst alleges he photographed internal SpaceX materials, an assertion not confirmed by the agencies involved.