The future of the International Space Station is in question after an incident on the launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday. A Soyuz spacecraft successfully launched to the ISS carrying two Russians and American astronaut Chris Williams for an eight-month stay. The flight went without a hitch but back on the ground there’s a big expensive mess to clean up. According to arstechnica.com someone forgot to secure a 20-ton service platform on the launch pad and it got blown into the hole where the exhaust gases are dispersed. The publication says there is now a question of whether the Russians can afford to fix the pad to keep it operational until the planned decommissioning of the ISS in 2030.
The Russians are downplaying the incident, saying they’ll have it fixed in short order, but worldwide sanctions and the economic bleed of the war in Ukraine have already damped their enthusiasm for the space program, which is essential for the ISS to continue operating. Although NASA has stepped up its involvement with more launches from the U.S., the Soyuz capsules carry most of the personnel and the Progress freighter takes most of the supplies there. The Progress is also used to boost the station to a higher orbit from time to time. The Baikonur pad is the only one that can launch those missions.
Russia hasn’t said what it’s going to do but it is downplaying Thursday’s incident. “The launch pad was inspected, as is done every time a rocket is launched, Russia said in a statement. “Damage to several launch pad components was identified. Damage can occur after launch, so such inspections are mandatory worldwide. The launch pad’s condition is currently being assessed.” Satellite imagery apparently shows the service platform in the hole where the rocket normally goes, according to arstechnica.com.
Well, SpaceX and Blue Origin had better ramp up their launch schedules. Why don’t the Russians ask their buddies, the Chinese, to help out? The Chinese launch supply and personnel missions to their own space station all the time.
Didn’t the Crew Dragon rescue the stranded astronauts? And didn’t one of them also boost the ISS’s orbit? I would think both New Glenn and Falcon rockets could keep the ISS provisioned, as well. Also, should the Russia/Ukraine war end soon, the sanctions should be lifted or, at least, reduced. I don’t see this as much of an emergency.