Russia says damaged launch pad crucial to its space programme will be fixed by February

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MOSCOW, Dec 16 : Russia's space agency said on Tuesday that work was underway to repair a damaged launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan that underpins its space programme and that the facility should be back in use by February of next year.

The pad was badly damaged in November when a Russian Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft with two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut on board blasted off.

Although the launch was successful, Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, later said a post-launch inspection had uncovered damage to the pad and that it would have to undergo repairs, notably to its "service cabin" - a platform located beneath the upper level - before it could be used again.

While Russia has other cosmodromes on its own territory and Baikonur has other launch sites, the damaged launch pad - number 31 - is the only one able to handle launches of the Soyuz rocket and crew capsule as well as the cargo-only Progress vehicle, which are crucial for the International Space Station.

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Roscosmos said on Tuesday that more than 130 people were racing to fix the pad, operating in two shifts from 8 a.m. to midnight.

All necessary spare parts were on site and being prepared for assembly, and testing would be conducted once the new service cabin was in place, it said.

"Work on restoring the service cabin and launch pad is being carried out at full speed," said Dmitry Baranov, deputy general director of Roscosmos.

"According to the confirmed timetable it will be ready to handle the first launch by the end of winter 2026."

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