Baranov called for an end to speculation on this topic. Currently, the necessary parts and equipment for replacing the service cabin at launch pad 31 have already been delivered to Baikonur. Work is currently underway on priming and painting. The project involves 130 employees from Roscosmos, who are working in two shifts. It is expected that the work will be completed by the end of winter 2026.
The cabin, intended for pre-launch servicing of the rocket, was damaged during the launch of Soyuz-2.1A, which put the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft into orbit with cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev, as well as NASA astronaut Christopher Williams. Three hours after the launch, the spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station, where it will remain for 242 days.
Currently, launch pad number 31 is the only active site for manned Soyuz launches. The previously operational "Gagarin Launch" has been decommissioned and handed over to Kazakhstan, where a museum complex is planned to be built on its base.
Russia rents Baikonur and the city of the same name from Kazakhstan. The agreement was last extended until 2050, with the rental cost amounting to 115 million dollars per year.
