Accident at Baikonur: the crisis of russia’s space sector deepens
russia’s space industry continues to rapidly degrade due to the war, sanctions, and the loss of access to Western technologies.
▫️Yesterday, during the launch of the russian spacecraft Soyuz MS-28 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, an accident occurred, damaging the launch pad. This is the only launch complex from which russia can conduct crewed missions. As a result, russia has temporarily lost the ability to send astronauts into space.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, russian propaganda has increasingly used spaceflight as “proof” that russia is an advanced high-tech nation. In reality, however, the country’s space sector is visibly deteriorating.
▫️Since 2022, the number of russian space launches has been steadily decreasing each year, while the gap between russia and the real leaders of the industry — the United States and China — continues to grow. For example, in 2024 russia conducted 17 launches, while the U.S. conducted 145.
By refusing to end the war, russia is steadily losing its status as a “major space power.”
