During the night of August 15, 2026, a series of explosions rang out in Samara, Russia. OSINT analysts said that the area where the Progress Rocket and Space Center and the Aviakor aircraft plant are located was hit. Ukrainian weapons manufacturer Fire Point confirmed that the Progress rocket center was hit, UNN reports.
The Progress Rocket and Space Center is one of the key enterprises in Russia’s rocket and space industry. The center develops and manufactures medium-class launch vehicles, including the Soyuz-2 family, as well as spacecraft for remote sensing of the Earth and scientific programs.
According to preliminary data, the strike hit the enterprise’s main assembly shop. A threat to a building located next to the Aviakor aircraft plant, which repairs and services Tu-95MS strategic bombers, was also reported.
As the CyberBoroshno OSINT channel indicates, this likely refers to Building 106A.
It is part of the Soyuz launch vehicle production complex. Building 106A operates under a high cleanroom standard: onboard electrical equipment, instruments, and printed circuit boards are assembled here—in effect, the launch vehicle’s “nervous system”: the control system, cable network, and instrument compartment. Without this stage, the rocket cannot be assembled, even when the body and tanks are ready.
The authorities of the Samara region confirmed that an industrial facility had been hit. At the same time, they said that the attack had been repelled. An operational headquarters was established in the region.
Denys Shtilerman, chief designer and co-founder of Fire Point, also published a video of a missile launch, apparently the same one that hit the space manufacturing facility in Samara.