ISS hits rare full house as all eight docking ports ocupado

NASA confirmed this week that for the first time, all eight of the International Space Station's docking ports are currently occupied – four by Russian vehicles.

But while the outpost is unusually busy, Russia faces a different problem. Damage to the launchpad used for sending Soyuz vehicles to the ISS has raised questions about when the next spacecraft will fly.

Space agency insiders have confirmed to The Register reports of Russian engineers conducting an urgent audit of resources onboard the ISS. Although any cargo gap could likely be filled by NASA's commercial partners, such as SpaceX, refueling the Russian portion of the complex can only be performed by Progress freighters.

Crew transport will also be a challenge if the Soyuz is unavailable. However, there is a chance that Boeing might finally join SpaceX in flying astronauts to the outpost in 2026, should its Starliner spacecraft be declared operational.

The ...