Support The Moscow Times!

Russia Aborts Spacecraft Launch Seconds Before Liftoff

Astronauts Oleg Novitsky, Marina Vasilevskaya and Tracy Dyson. Roscosmos

Updated with Borisov's statement.

The launch of a Russian Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) was aborted just seconds before liftoff on Thursday, with officials blaming a loss of pressure at a power source.

"There was an automatic launch cancellation," a flight controller said in a live stream broadcast by Russia's space agency Roscosmos right before the rocket was set to take off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

On board the Soyuz rocket were Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, first-time spaceflight participant from Belarus Marina Vasilevskaya and NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson.

NASA said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that "the spacecraft and crew remain safe. Teams at Baikonur will provide updates as they make assessments."

The head of Roscosmos Yury Borisov later explained that the mission abort was due to a loss of pressure at a power source.

The launch was rescheduled to 3:36 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday, he added.

Later on Thursday, SpaceX is scheduled to launch a robotic cargo mission to the ISS.

AFP contributed reporting.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more