Collapse of Service Tower at Baikonur Blocks Russian Astronauts From Accessing Orbit

Russia’s only operating manned launch site for Soyuz and Progress has been severely damaged after an accident with a Soyuz MS-28 on November 27 at Baikonur.

The mobile service cabin fell into the fire protection channel by several meters, deforming the service bridges and access elements, RussianSpaceWeb reported.

As a result, launch pad 31 became virtually unusable, and the launch of Progress MS-33, scheduled for December 21, was threatened with disruption.

The first estimates of the resource’s analysts indicate that the recovery could take up to two years. There are no temporary solutions to support the launches.

The Russian Federation may try to bring in duplicate equipment from other locations: the mothballed Site 1, Plesetsk, Vostochny, or Kourou in French Guiana.

The damaged element is the service cabin (SC), which is installed around the lower part of the rocket after it is delivered to the launch site.

It forms three levels of access platforms located only a few inches from the rocket body and below the main concrete slab.

The bridges connect the kerosene and liquid oxygen supply lines to the first and second stage tanks.

The cabin also provides access to the lower supports that hold the rocket upright before launch.

The design was first created in 1956 under the index 8U216. It was designed by the Central Design Bureau of Transport Engineering (Moscow, USSR) and manufactured by the Ukrainian NKMZ (Novokramatorsk Machine-Building Plant, Kramatorsk, Ukraine).

Before launching, the cab is folded up, slid on rails into a niche under the platform and covered with a heat shield.

Previously, a Russian military satellite associated with the nuclear program went out of control.