Russia’s space agency Roscosmos says a Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad that was damaged during the lift-off of a crewed spacecraft in late November is being repaired and will be ready to resume operations at the end of February next year.
“The manned program continues,” Roscosmos said following two weeks of speculation about the impact of delays on crewed flights from the leased Baikonur facility in Kazakhstan. If Russia meets its repair schedule, it would beat some predictions that said the launch pad might not back in operation for up to two years.
More than 130 Roscosmos employees, working in two shifts from 8 a.m. to midnight, and 18 heavy vehicles are involved in replacing a service cabin that was damaged in the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 craft that took two Russian cosmonauts and one American astronaut to the International Space Station, the agency said on Monday.
“Work has begun on priming and painting the cabin parts. As they become ready, they will be transported to the launch pad. Some of the equipment is already there,” Roscosmos said. “After priming and painting the parts, specialists will begin installing the cabin and conducting autonomous tests.”
Space journalists and analysts said the previous mobile service platform was not properly secured during the November launch and collapsed into a flame duct below the launch pad. A cargo flight to the International Space Station had been scheduled for this month from Baikonur but was delayed after the mishap.
