Russia’s only means of sending astronauts into space suffered some serious damage from the explosion

• Russia sent three astronauts into space on Thursday, but damaged its launchpad during liftoff.

• The pad, Russia’s only site for manned launches, appears to have lost its service bay.

• Official footage taken after the launch showed charred structural remains lying in an exhaust trench.

Russia’s only launchpad to send astronauts into space was seriously damaged during a rocket blast on Thursday.

Footage of the incident from Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, showed part of the structure collapsing and falling into a large exhaust trench below.

Roscosmos confirmed to state media on Thursday that the launchpad, located in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, was damaged, but did not specify the extent of the damage.

The launch itself, which sent a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station, was successful, and none of the three astronauts on board were injured.

However, Roscosmos footage suggests that the service bay under the launchpad was dislodged as the Soyuz fired its booster engines at it.

A video of the launch, published by state media, showed debris flying up from the trench as the exhaust rocket fired, which could indicate an explosion or structural collapse.

Another top down shot, from Roscosmos, then showed the charred remains of a large structure located in the facility’s exhaust trench.

Meanwhile, footage of the launchpad filmed just before liftoff showed that the trench was previously empty.

The service bay is a platform located near the bottom of the launchpad that houses critical cables, sensors and other equipment, and also provides technicians with a work area for the tail section of the rocket.

It is not clear how the service bay was dislodged and how long it may take to repair. Roscosmos did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

“The condition of the launch complex is currently being assessed,” the agency told state media. “All necessary backup components are available for restoration, and the damage will be repaired soon.”

The Soyuz spacecraft carried two Russian astronauts and one NASA astronaut, Chris Williams, who arrived safely at the International Space Station.

NASA did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.

Site 31/6 is Russia’s only manned launchpad

The damage from Thursday is expected to disrupt operations at Russia’s only launchpad for manned space missions.

This particular pad, called Site 31/6, was built in the 1960s at the Baikonur spaceport, a Soviet-era facility that Russia leases from Kazakhstan.

The Baikonur spaceport has an alternate pad, known as Site 1 or Gagarin Start. It was where Russia launched the famous cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin for the world’s first human space flight. Site 1, which had been in use since the 1950s, ceased space flight operations in 2019.

The United Arab Emirates signed an agreement of interest in 2021 to finance the modernization of the old pad, although the agreement probably fell through. The Russian authorities announced in 2023 that they would turn Gagarin’s Start into a museum.

Russia is also building a new spaceport, the Vostochny Cosmodrome, on its territory, but has yet to complete the infrastructure for manned launches.

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