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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Soyuz failure probe narrows focus on collision at booster separation [spaceflightnow.com]

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 [soylentnews.org]

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