A launchpad mishap has effectively cut Russia off from the International Space Station.

During a November 27 Soyuz launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the rocket itself took off flawlessly, ferrying three astronauts safely to the International Space Station. The ground equipment, however, got knocked around by the exhaust plume and fired off straight into the flame trench. That isn’t good.

The more specific culprit was a large service platform that’s supposed to roll into a protective shelter before launch and, ideally, stay there, using manually installed stoppers. Why it didn’t stay there remains to be seen.

Russia Accidentally Destroyed Its Last Operational Launch Pad During ISS Liftoff

Maybe a tech forgot to engage the brake? Or perhaps some Soviet era peace finally

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