Soyuz FG fails during ascent – Soyuz MS-10 crew safe after ballistic entry abort
The Russian federal space agency, Roscosmos, launched their Soyuz MS-10 crew vehicle with two new crewmembers that were set for the International Space Station. However, the launch – which took place on Thursday at 0840 UTC from Baikonur – failed a few minutes into flight. Soyuz MS-10 was then aborted on a ballistic entry, before safely landing downrange of the launch site.
The crewed Soyuz, which would normally ferry three people to the Station, was carrying a reduced crew complement as part of Russia's initiative to keep their total crew presence on Station to just two until the launch, late next year, of their primary science lab, Nauka.
However, those plans are unlikely to apply now Soyuz MS-10 has failed to arrive at the ISS, with the Soyuz FG likely to be grounded for some time as a State Commision invesigation[sic] takes place.
Also at The Verge, Reuters, and CNN, and CBS.
Related Stories
Soyuz failure probe narrows focus on collision at booster separation
Russian investigators believe a malfunction during separation of the Soyuz rocket's four liquid-fueled first stage boosters two minutes after liftoff from Kazakhstan led to an emergency landing of a two-man crew heading for the International Space Station, officials said Friday.
Speaking to reporters Friday in Moscow, veteran cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, head of the Russian space agency's human spaceflight program, said the investigation into Thursday's launch failure has narrowed on a collision between part of the Soyuz rocket's first stage and the launcher's second stage.
Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and NASA astronaut Nick Hague were carried away from the failing rocket by an emergency escape system, and they safely landed inside their descent module near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, around 250 miles (400 kilometers) northeast of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where the launch originated.
The Soyuz first stage is comprised of four boosters, each powered by a four-nozzle kerosene-fueled RD-107A main engine, that burn for 1 minute, 58 seconds, during launch. Once their engine firings are complete, the boosters are supposed to jettison simultaneously at an altitude of roughly 150,000 feet (45 kilometers) to tumble back to Earth. Krikalev said Friday that one of the boosters did not separate from the Soyuz core stage — or second stage — cleanly.
Previously: Soyuz Crew Vehicle Fails Mid-Flight, Astronauts OK
Humans are to blame for the October failure of the Soyuz rocket:
Roscosmos: An assembly error doomed our Soyuz, but we promise it won't happen again
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, has completed its investigation into October's Soyuz mishap in record time, pointing the finger of blame at problems during assembly.
Mutterings emitted from the space agency earlier this week suggested that the issue was related to a sensor that detects stage separation of the booster. In yesterday's press conference, Roscosmos provided a few more details and shared a terrifying video[*] showing the moment things went bad for the Soyuz. It then gave the green light for putting a crew back on the thing next month.
The actual explosion was, according to the State Commission tasked with getting to the bottom of the mess, caused by one of the side boosters not separating correctly and striking the rocket core. This led to the depressurisation of a fuel tank and the loss of control of the booster. The problems start at 1:23 in the video.
Of course, the real question is why did the separation fail? The answer, according to Roscosmos, was a failure to open a nozzle at the top of the strap-on booster to vent its tank. This meant the booster did not separate cleanly. The nozzle failure was caused by a faulty contact sensor, which had been "bent" during assembly of the Soyuz at the Baikonur cosmodrome.
[*] [This appears to be the video. --Ed.]
Also at Inverse.
Previously: Soyuz Crew Vehicle Fails Mid-Flight, Astronauts OK
Soyuz Failure Narrowed Down to Collision Between Booster and Core Stage
Two months after mishap, Russian Soyuz rockets back into space with crew
Less than two months after a booster separation issue with a Soyuz rocket caused a dramatic, high-gravity landing, the Russian vehicle soared back into space on Monday at 6:31 ET (11:31 UTC). The launch from Kazakhstan, under mostly clear, blue skies, was nominal as each of the rocket's first, second, and third stages fired normally.
The launch sent NASA astronaut Anne McClain, Canadian David Saint-Jacques, and Russian Oleg Kononenko into space aboard their Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft. After making four orbits around the Earth, their Soyuz spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the Russian segment of the International Space Station at 12:35pm ET (17:35 UTC) Monday.
According to SpaceFlightNow.com the docking was successful.
Previously: Soyuz Crew Vehicle Fails Mid-Flight, Astronauts OK
Soyuz Failure Narrowed Down to Collision Between Booster and Core Stage
NASA Confident in Soyuz, Ready for Crewed Launch in December
Roscosmos Completes Investigation into October Soyuz Failure, Finds Assembly Issue
(Score: 2) by LVDOVICVS on Thursday October 11 2018, @07:52PM (15 children)
First a hole in a Soyuz transport. Now, this. Anyone have any theories as to what's going on?
I'll make an opening bid of it being Russian(s) interested in discrediting their corrupt government.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by PiMuNu on Thursday October 11 2018, @07:55PM (4 children)
Raise you on Russian government blames NASA for sabotaging Soyuz; uses it as political leverage against US
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday October 11 2018, @08:09PM (2 children)
What leverage? The USG and Putin have had bad relations for years, even under President Trump.
And soon, SpaceX and Boeing will be carrying astronauts to the ISS. Although the timeline probably won't speed up too much:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/10/a-soyuz-crew-makes-an-emergency-landing-after-rocket-fails/?comments=1&start=160 [arstechnica.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday October 12 2018, @12:27AM (1 child)
Soon? It seems more likely to me that no American rocket will carry humans to this space station ever.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Friday October 12 2018, @03:03PM
The Space-X capsule will be tested in space next spring, will fly humans in the fall.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Friday October 12 2018, @09:48AM
Trump has private meeting with Putin, Soyuz ships start failing, coincidence?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 11 2018, @07:59PM (1 child)
Is it statistically significant? If not then who cares?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday October 11 2018, @08:06PM
Does it get CLICKS? That's who cares!
(I wish I had known beforehand that it's a bad idea to roll a joint with flash paper.)
What doesn't kill me makes me weaker for next time.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Sulla on Thursday October 11 2018, @08:12PM (6 children)
As we all know all things bad and wrong are Russians. Even if the action does not expressly benefit Russia it is safe to assume that this was done by Russians to spite other Russians to in some way help Mother Russia. My take is that chances are everyone onboard the ISS are Russians or [[[AINO]]] (Americans in name only). This action was either done by Russians or AINOs onboard the ISS to cause friction between the American and Russian factions and aid in Trump's goal in going to war with Russia. Or alternatively if that doesn't pan out because Trump is an AINO, most likely its a trick to make it look like we are at enemies with Russia so that Trump can trick us into peace with our great enemy.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Thursday October 11 2018, @08:20PM (5 children)
The Russians can blame the Chinese.
The Chinese can blame the US.
Trump can tweet about how the Russians are our best friends. The very best. You've never seen a friend as good as Russia. And believe me, I know who to make friends with. We have the best chemistry. The very best. While China is hacking our mother's boards. We should open up DoD contract bidding to the Russians.
What doesn't kill me makes me weaker for next time.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Sulla on Thursday October 11 2018, @08:42PM (4 children)
I think right now the Chinese have the most to gain between increased US-Russian tensions. Doesn't mean we should be overly friendly with Russia, but if I had to choose one or the other I would rather be on the side with Russia.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Thursday October 11 2018, @09:02PM (3 children)
That's true. Due to its crappy economy and demographics, Russia will never have the same power and influence it had before the collapse of the Soviet Union. China on the other hand has almost everything it needs or more to compete with the U.S. on the world stage.
The problem is that Russia is run by Vladimir Putin and United Russia, and conflict with the West is good politics for them. Until the one party rule in Russia ends, any relationship with them will remain unsteady. And we don't know what would come after Putin and United Russia.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Thursday October 11 2018, @10:47PM (2 children)
That is interesting.. Would having a positive relationship with one-party Russia harm or hurt us when/if they finally break free? I recall articles from a while back where Russia was working on their own great firewall, this could significantly hamper their chances to break free I would assume.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Thursday October 11 2018, @11:38PM (1 child)
I don't think we'll have any problem with that at this point. Like I said, even Trump has not brought the two nations much closer together. We've repeatedly imposed sanctions on Russia this year.
Other Western countries are pretty much on the same page. For example, the UK [bellingcat.com].
I don't think a firewall is going to do much. Russians aren't like the Chinese. There is significant support for United Russia, but plenty of opposition as well. It's just not very cohesive in the face of Putin. But they will become emboldened.
Putin is likely to retire or die at some point. He could retire as early as 2024. That event alone will be very risky for United Russia. A Putin successor might not have anywhere near the popular support of Putin, and might not have the balls to do whatever it takes to win. Meanwhile, Russia faces some economic problems while population growth is low and the population is getting older. Check out a population pyramid [wikipedia.org]. Many people will be hitting retirement age soon.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday October 12 2018, @12:35AM
Right now Russian stock market has Schiller P/E 6 and dividend yield 7%. A typical model would estimate an average return of 25-30% annual in dollar index terms over the next 10 years.
Here is (an amateurish) example of an estimate https://www.gurufocus.com/global-market-valuation.php?country=RUS [gurufocus.com]
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 11 2018, @10:58PM
#CrookedHillary should not be ruled out... she has it in for the Russkies.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday October 11 2018, @07:58PM (14 children)
iWantToKeepAnon asks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpqq0i4w_fM [youtube.com]
0:22: "There were only two crew on this flight because Roscosmos has been running on lower budget than they would like."
So instead of 2 Russians and 1 American they tried to send 1 Russian and 1 American. I bet those two will be buddies for life now. This is apparently the first time one of these abort systems has been used to save astronauts (correct me if I'm wrong).
Because of this incident, the ISS may not have anybody on board by the end of the year.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 11 2018, @08:01PM (8 children)
But the escape craft up there has a hole in it. Don't they have to send another one up to get them home?
(Score: 2, Informative) by nitehawk214 on Thursday October 11 2018, @08:13PM (4 children)
The hole is in the orbital module, not the descent stage.
However, I would not want to be the one returning to Earth in the holey spacecraft. Who knows what else is wrong with it.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 4, Funny) by theluggage on Thursday October 11 2018, @09:47PM (3 children)
The hole that they found is in the orbital module... I mean, its OK, I'm going to finish this salad because I already found the caterpillar...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by sjames on Thursday October 11 2018, @10:18PM (1 child)
OTOH, the choices are finish the salad they have inspected, another salad from the same kitchen with less time to inspect it, or wait for the guy who has never prepared food for human consumption before to finish building his kitchen and get it inspected.
The first and third option are less likely to present further caterpillars, but the third is months away.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Sulla on Friday October 12 2018, @12:16AM
I would go with option one, I think that finding a dragon in my salad could be quite unpleasant.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 3, Funny) by Rivenaleem on Friday October 12 2018, @09:50AM
Would have been worse if you found half a caterpillar.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday October 11 2018, @08:18PM (2 children)
https://www.space.com/42009-nasa-space-station-soyuz-air-leak-update.html [space.com]
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(Score: 2) by EETech1 on Friday October 12 2018, @08:12AM (1 child)
http://russianspaceweb.com/soyuz-ms-10.html [russianspaceweb.com]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday October 12 2018, @12:59PM
What's that got to do with the astronauts already on the ISS?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Thursday October 11 2018, @08:15PM (1 child)
When is the soonest that a Dragon authorized for crew is able to get up there?
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday October 11 2018, @08:22PM
Under the current plans, they would get there in June 2019:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_2#Flight_testing [wikipedia.org]
Given the major disruption that has just happened, that info may no longer be accurate.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Thursday October 11 2018, @09:08PM
The '83 pad fire/explosion was the only time the escape tower was ever used. The recent failure and the '75 failure are kinda similar in flight path in the sense both were after the escape tower was jettisoned.
There isn't a hardware system so much as they just kinda come on for a landing, admittedly not all the way from orbit. Presumably this is the first time with that software subroutine or similar.
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday October 12 2018, @12:41AM (1 child)
I believe it was the first time any abort system whatsoever was used. Russian design proves itself once again.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday October 12 2018, @02:04PM
In flight and intentionally, yes. On pad and accidentally, no.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by goodie on Thursday October 11 2018, @09:37PM
"We lifted off, so it still counts, thanks. By the way, I'm not going back in there". Their poor families too holy crap...
(Score: 2) by crafoo on Thursday October 11 2018, @09:55PM
What a wild ride. A very rare, unique human experience. These two will have a cool story to tell.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Friday October 12 2018, @03:15PM
I met Jeanine Epps at Worldcon in 2016, and she expressed her hesitation to ride a Russian rocket. I think her distaste for Russian rockets is what got her flight scrubbed. Either that or someone on the ISS was sick and they needed a flight surgeon more than an engineer.
I know I'd trust a Space-X rocket a lot more than a Russian rocket (Not sure about the SLS, they've had some serious problems).
That said, if I could visit the ISS and the only way there was the Russians, I'd still go. It was an honor meeting a NASA astronaut. BTW, this story [mcgrewbooks.com] has the first use of the word "astronaut".
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org