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Six decades after the beginning of the space age, the exploration of the last frontier remains a difficult and dangerous proposition.
This fundamental truth was reinforced yesterday (11 October) by the failure of a Russian Soyuz rocket when launching a crew to the International Space Station (ISS).
The rocket suffers a serious anomaly a few minutes after takeoff. The Soyuz MS-10 satellite carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin are making an emergency landing in Kazakhstan. The Hague and Ovchinin are safe and in good condition, NASA officials said. [In Photos: The Harrowing Soyuz Launch Abort in Pictures]
There will be an investigation of the incident to determine what went wrong and how to prevent it from recurring. And since this is a space flight, the list of potential problems is quite long.
"We are plunged into a form of complacency when these things seem to go off without a hitch on a regular basis," said John Logsdon, professor emeritus of political science and international affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs. George Washington University in Washington. DC
"But it's the result of extreme care, and that has not changed," Logsdon told Space.com. "This is not a routine, and it requires diligence and focus throughout the process – preparation for production and launch, preparation for launch and launch," Logsdon told Space. com. "It's always difficult."
The difficulty comes largely from the inhospitable environment of space and the incredible energy needed to speed up vehicles at the speed of a space flight. For example, to travel to Earth orbit, a spacecraft must travel at least 28,500 km / h. A seemingly minor problem can quickly escalate into a disaster if it allows this energy to escape or spread in an uncontrolled manner.
Consider the two disasters suffered by NASA's space shuttle program during its 30-year flight. On January 28, 1986, the unusual cold caused a rubber O-ring to form in one of the Challenger Shuttle's solid rocket propellants. The hot gases escaped through the resulting breach, causing Challenger's huge external fuel tank to rupture. The shuttle shattered 73 seconds after takeoff, killing the seven crew members on board.
On February 1, 2003, the Columbia Orbiter disintegrated upon return to the Earth 's atmosphere at the end of its mission. Hot gases invaded the left wing through a hole in the shuttle's heat shield, which had been punctured by a piece of foam poured from the external fuel tank during take-off two weeks earlier. Again, the seven crew members perished.
In both cases, the investigators concluded that the internal culture and decision-making processes of NASA were at least partially to blame. For example, the official investigation into the Challenger tragedy, known as the Rogers Commission, determined that the officials who announced the takeoff that day were not aware of the documented problems with the O-rings and the boosters. solid. Morton-Thiokol warned against starting in cold weather.
"If the decision makers knew all the facts, it is highly unlikely that they decided to launch 51-L on January 28, 1986," says the Rogers Commission report, citing the name of the Challenger mission .
Happy that our friends are well. Thanks to the rescue force of> 1000 RS professionals! Today, we have once again shown how much the vehicle #Soyuz is to be able to save the crew from such a failure. Space flight is difficult. And we must continue to try for the benefit of mankind # Exp57 # SoyuzMS10 pic.twitter.com/H7RmToBb5C
– Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) October 11, 2018
NASA has taken these hard lessons to heart, said Kenny Todd, head of the agency's ISS operations integration. The plaques honoring the two lost shuttle crews are prominently displayed in the room where NASA's ISS Mission Management Team meets, he said. [Space Travel: Danger at Every Phase (Infographic)]
"It's a very visual reminder," Todd said at a press conference yesterday after the Soyuz anomaly. "Whenever we get the chance, we try to remind people not to get a fever."
The two shuttle accidents are not the only tragedies of spaceflight. Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov died when he returned to Earth on April 24, 1967, when the parachute of his Soyuz 1 spacecraft failed to deploy properly.
And Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Patsayev were lost on June 29, 1971, after a three-week stay aboard the Salyut 1 space station of the Soviet Union. A valve problem caused the Soyuz 11 crew capsule to depressurize the cosmonauts shortly before it returned to the Earth's atmosphere.
Deaths also occurred during training races and other tests. For example, on January 27, 1967, Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee died in a fire during a test designed to pave the way for the planned launch of the mission on February 21.
And on October 31, 2014, Virgin Galactic's suborbital VSS Enterprise spacecraft crashed during a rocket-propelled jet test flight after its system was prematurely deployed reintegration "flag". Co-driver Michael Alsbury was killed; Pilot Peter Siebold was seriously injured but survived.
"It's a very difficult business in which we find ourselves, and that can make you humble," Todd said. "And you can never lose sight of that."
Mike Wall's book on the quest for extraterrestrial life, "Out There," will be published on November 13 by Grand Central Publishing. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. follow us @Spacedotcom or Facebook. Originally posted on Space.com.
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