Always strive to learn something useful. --Sophocles

This is bad, for both Russia and the USA.

There was a successful launch Thursday from Pad 31 in Kazakstan of a Soyuz rocket carrying two Russian cosmonauts and one American astronaut to the ISS. But there was a problem on the ground.

One of the launch tower's moving platforms that is used to inspect and service the rocket was not properly secured prior to launch. The blast from the rocket passing the platform blew it down into the flame trench, causing a lot of damage to the pad, probably the tower, and presumably destroying the platform - which weighed 20 tons. Roscomos, the agency that runs the Russian space program (roughly the equivalent of NASA) claims that the damage will be repaired shortly. However, so many materials in manpower, money, and actual physical materials have been diverted to their failing war effort against Ukraine that this might not happen. One specific example of how Roscomos is being squeezed is that they used to send four crews to the ISS annually, now they're sending three.

While Russia has many launch facilities through its countries and neighbors, i.e. former USSR countries, Pad 31 is currently the only launch pad that can be used to send Soyuz and Proton rockets to the ISS. Pad 1 at the Kazakstan facility - where Uri Gregarin launched from - could be used, but it's been decommissioned and is being turned into a museum.

The Soyuz launches are used for crew/supply missions, the Proton launches are solely supply runs but also used to boost the ISS into a higher orbit. Fortunately NASA can also use SpaceX Dragons and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnusfor boost and also for supply.

This will also put some pressure on SpaceX as they've been having some problems with their super-heavy booster, trying to get it reliable enough to get people to the Moon and allegedly to Mars, not to mention their lunar lander being so far behind schedule that NASA is sending out an SOS contract for someone else to come up with another lander, otherwise SpaceX's tardiness will delay the USA going back to the Moon.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/11/russian-launch-pad-incident-raises-concerns-about-future-of-space-station/

This is not just pretty cool, but quite awesome!

There have been 3D printers on the ISS for about a decade now. Earlier this year, the European Space Agency sent up a METAL 3D printer and have been working with it for a few hours a day, to see what's possible in the microgravity environment of the ISS. The printer is limited, of course, to objects about the size of a can of soda. This is, after all, an experiment. They'll print a layer, do all sorts of analysis on it, then print another. Once they're done with their experiment, the samples will be returned to Earth for all sorts of additional analysis.

The objective? Circular recycling! The ultimate concept is to be able to capture and reuse some of the satellites in space. Figuring out if they can successfully print new parts is one aspect of this program. To some degree, capturing space objects has been demonstrated. The thing that bothers me is the labor involved in safely dismantling a whatever and then the energy costs to reduce it into whatever is needed to feed an industrial-sized 3D metal printer.

The emphasis on safety because the USA and Russia are careful to vent fuel and discharge batteries on rocket boosters after they have completed their missions. Currently, the Chinese do not. I do not know about other nations that have entered the NEO industrial age.

SpaceX, of course, tries to take their empties home with 'em. And I give 'em big props for that.

There's a photo in The Register article that shows the objects they have printed thus far. They look like decent amateur lathe work. Then you realize they're not screwed to the base plate, they're BUILT THERE.

https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/06/esa_metal_3d_printing/

https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/24/09/06/2225225/esa-prints-3d-metal-shape-in-space-for-first-time