On 27 November 2025, the Soyuz MS-28 shuttle — carried by a Soyuz 2.1a rocket — propelled from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:28 p.m. Moscow time (09:28 GMT). Onboard were two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA space explorer. The dispatch itself continued regularly, and the group docked with the Universal Space Station (ISS) afterward the same day, with the organization affirming that all staff were secure and mission execution was ostensible.
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However, after the rocket’s flight, post-launch reviews uncovered genuine basic harm to the dispatch cushion — particularly, to a “service platform” or “maintenance cabin” that lies underneath the rocket at Location 31/6 (moreover referenced basically as Location 31). That stage allegedly collapsed into the pad’s fire trench beneath the drive of the dispatch deplete.
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The harm shows up extreme sufficient that the cushion has been rendered non-operational — at slightest until repairs are made.
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What is Location 31/6 — and why its harm matters
Site 31/6 at Baikonur has been the as it were cushion right now in utilize for Russian manned dispatches to the ISS since 2019, after the retirement of Gagarin's Begin (Location 1).
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The cushion, initially built in 1958 (for rocket utilize) and afterward repurposed for space operations, has decades of history. Over numerous decades it has facilitated hundreds of dispatches — in a few accounts over 400–500 dispatches — counting both manned and cargo flights.
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The “service platform” (now and then called “maintenance cabin” or “service get to platform”) is basic: it permits ground groups to get to the lower stages of the rocket amid prelaunch operations, perform checks, fueling arrangements, and secure the rocket some time recently start. Without a working stage, you can’t securely plan and dispatch run rockets.
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Therefore, with Location 31/6 out of benefit, Russia viably loses, briefly at slightest, its as it were household capability to dispatch manned Soyuz or cargo-Soyuz (e.g., for ISS resupply) missions.
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What went off-base — starting evaluations and concerns
According to space-industry sources and ground spectators, the benefit stage — assessed at around 20 metric tons — may have fizzled to be legitimately bolted or secured some time recently dispatch. As the rocket motors touched off, the pushed may have ousted the stage, causing it to collapse into the fire trench.
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Video symbolism discharged after the dispatch appears flotsam and jetsam and twisted metal close the debilitate trench, steady with a auxiliary collapse or maybe than a basic burned cushion.
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Experts gauge that repairing or supplanting the harmed stage — known in a few reports as “8U0216” — seem take up to two a long time. That appraise comes from known imperatives: save parts may exist, but manufacturing and introducing such a huge, overwhelming, and accurately designed structure is time-consuming.
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Meanwhile, a few Russian space-industry commentators caution that the harm may be more broad than formally conceded. At the exceptionally slightest, there is instability almost whether the cushion can be returned to full operational status — or whether it will require significant remodel or indeed remaking.
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Broader suggestions — What this implies for Russia and the ISS
Temporary suspension of Russian manned dispatches. With the as it were operational cushion down, Russia cannot dispatch unused space travelers or cosmonauts (or cargo missions requiring crew-capable rockets) until repairs are completed. That successfully grounds Russia’s free human spaceflight capability for the predictable future.
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Uncertainty for ISS coordinations. Arranged missions — counting uncrewed cargo missions (e.g., utilizing the Soyuz-derived cargo variation) — may require to be postponed, canceled, or rerouted. There is moreover chance to the supply plan for the Russian fragment of the ISS.
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Setback for Russian space desire. For decades, the Baikonur Cosmodrome has been the spine of Russian human spaceflight. The sudden misfortune of that capability may constrain Russia to quicken substitute plans — such as crew-certifying other dispatch destinations (e.g., Vostochny Cosmodrome), if that is indeed attainable in the close term.
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Impact on worldwide participation. The timing is particularly touchy given progressing geopolitical pressures and sanctions. The harm raises the specter of Russia getting to be subordinate on remote (or universal) accomplices for future group dispatches or ISS operations — possibly complicating participation with offices like NASA, or with other accomplices.
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A blow to distinction and history. Baikonur and Location 31 (and generally Location 1) carry decades of legacy — from first-in-space missions to continuous ISS collaborations. This occurrence marks a sharp break in coherence, one once in a while seen since the Cold War or the early decades of space investigation.
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🛠️ What’s another — Conceivable reactions and ways forward
According to the official explanation by Roscosmos (the Russian government space organization), all vital save parts are accessible, and they proposed to repair the harm “in the close future.”
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But exterior specialists stay doubtful. A few accept that a full repair may take as much as two a long time, particularly if custom manufacture, basic support, or security updates are required.
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Other choices may be considered: for case, maybe restoring more seasoned, “mothballed” cushions (in spite of the fact that these may no longer meet advanced security measures) — or quickening crew-certification of other destinations, accepting specialized, calculated, and political obstacles can be overcome.
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In the brief term, Russia may require to depend more intensely on worldwide participation (e.g., flights on board non-Soyuz vehicles) to keep up its human spaceflight nearness — but this comes with complications, given current geopolitical tensions.
Authentic setting and significance
The harmed cushion — Location 31/6 — is portion of a bequest dating to the Cold War space-race time. Over decades, it has been repurposed, overhauled, and kept up to back both cargo and run missions.
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After the closure of Gagarin’s Begin for run missions in 2019, Location 31 got to be the #1 and as it were cushion for Russian team dispatches. That as of now put gigantic vital significance on a single cushion — which, until presently, had carried on dependably in spite of maturing framework.
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The reality that a standard team dispatch — probably schedule by presently — seem cause a collapse of basic framework underscores concerns approximately conceded upkeep, maturing Soviet-era equipment, and conceivable underfunding or fumble in the Russian space program. A few commentators have famous that inveterate need of venture, combined with geopolitical disturbance and sanctions, have debilitated the flexibility of Russia’s space framework.
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Instabilities and things we still don’t know
While the “service platform” collapse is broadly detailed, the full degree of basic harm — e.g., harm to the pad’s establishment, fire trench, or supporting framework — remains hazy. Official explanations are unclear, as is frequently the case with delicate foundation disappointments.
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It’s as of now obscure precisely when dispatches can continue — whether months absent, or possibly up to two a long time. The wide run stems from instability approximately whether save parts are genuinely adequate, whether auxiliary astuteness past fair the stage has been compromised, and how broad any required modernization might be.
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Alternative dispatch destinations — indeed if considered — may confront noteworthy administrative, specialized, and security certification challenges. Indeed if physically conceivable, it may take a long time to get them prepared for run flights, particularly given the complexity of human-rated dispatch operations.
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