Flaw found in launch pad casing at Vostochny Cosmodrome partially fixed

The first stage of the work to fix cavities (or voids) detected under the casing of the launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East has been completed, the Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure reported on Friday.

Specialists injected a special solution into the voids that had emerged, the Center’s press office said.

"The first stage of injection works at the Vostochny Cosmodrome’s launch pad is over. The first and the second portions of a special solution were injected into the cavities under the launch pad’s casing," the press office said in a statement.

The condition of the launch pad’s casing will be restored to meet the requirements of the design documentation. The timetable for the work stage has been drawn up, the statement says.

In early September, specialists from the Center for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure uncovered poor-quality concrete under a section of the launch pad’s casing at the Vostochny spaceport in the Amur Region. However, according to the Center, the defect is not critical.

The Vostochny Cosmodrome is Russia’s first civilian spaceport. In April 2016, the first successful launch was carried out from the space center with the delivery of three satellites into orbit. The Vostochny spaceport will ensure Russia’s full access to outer space and reduce its dependence on Kazakhstan’s Baikonur.