Russia has suspended human spaceflight activities for the first time since 1961 after an incident at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The disruption occurred during the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, which was scheduled to carry crewed missions to the International Space Station.
The incident involved the collapse of the service tower on Launch Pad 31, the sole launch pad used for crewed missions at Baikonur. The mishap caused damage to the rocket’s exhaust plume and surrounding infrastructure, prompting an immediate halt to ongoing launch preparations and subsequent launches.
Russian space officials have launched an investigation into the cause of the tower collapse and the extent of the damage. In the meantime, all scheduled crewed missions have been postponed until safety assurances are in place. This pause marks a significant deviation from Russia’s long history of continuous human spaceflight, which dates back over six decades.
Authorities have not yet determined a timeline for resuming launches, but they emphasized that safety remains a top priority. The incident highlights the challenges faced by space agencies in maintaining and upgrading their launch infrastructure, even amid ongoing missions.