A fire briefly broke out Wednesday at the leading research center for Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, triggering an evacuation of staff.
Roscosmos said a fire alarm sounded around 1 p.m. local time after smoke was detected in the basement of a building at the Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIIMash) in the town of Korolyov, located outside of Moscow.
Staff were evacuated as firefighters responded to put out the blaze. No injuries were reported, the space agency said.
Russian media released videos showing dark smoke rising above the complex, which houses mission control for the Russian segment of the International Space Station.
Roscosmos said there was no threat to workers or nearby residents, noting that ISS operations “remain fully under the control of specialists.”
An internal commission will determine the cause of the fire once the site is fully cleared, the agency added.
Anonymous sources told the state-run news agency TASS that a short circuit may have sparked the fire.
Neither Roscosmos nor TASS specified the size of the fire or the extent of any damage.
The United States sanctioned TsNIIMash after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine over its role in Russia’s defense industry.
