Crew of Failed Soyuz Rocket Will Fly Again Next Spring, Russia's Space Chief Says



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One day after Soyuz rocket failed just after liftoff, Roscosmos said the American and Russian aboard the flight will fly again next year.

Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, said via Twitter on Friday (Oct. 12) that Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and NASA astronaut Nick Hague will fly again in the spring, according to a translation. Rogozin's report suggests that it will be important to investigate Soyuz's failure to find a root cause. NASA's own administrator, Jim Bridenstine, was also optimistic on a swift resolution.

"I fully anticipate that NASA astronauts will fly again on the Soyuz spacecraft," Bridenstine said via Twitter Sunday (Oct. 14) After a news conference in Moscow. [In Photos: Space Crew’s Harrowing Soyuz Launch Abort]

  Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (left) and NASA astronaut Nick Hague, shown here en route to their Soyuz rocket for an Oct. 11, 2018, launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, will fly again in spring. The pair's Soyuz rocket failed just after liftoff, sending them to a dramatic abort. Both men were unharmed.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (left) and NASA astronaut Nick Hague, shown here en route to their Soyuz rocket for an Oct. 11, 2018, launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, will fly again in spring. The pair's Soyuz rocket failed just after liftoff, sending them to a dramatic abort. Both men were unharmed.

Credit: Victor Zelentsov / NASA

A Soyuz rocket carrying Hague and Ovchinin launched skyward from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday (Oct. 11) we have mission to the International Space Station, where the living space crew members are living aboard the orbiting lab. Goal after 119 seconds after liftoff, something went wrong.

The crew's Soyuz MS-10 capsule abort system deployed, ripping the capsule space from its booster and pulling Hague and Ovchinin to safety. After the flight of the crew to G forces of up to 6.7 times the force of gravity, the capsule landed safely under its parachute, with search-and-rescue teams swiftly recovering the crew. An investigation into the Soyuz rocket failure is underway, with an early focus on the four-strap boosters used early in flight.

Famed cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, director of human spaceflight for Roscosmos, told reporters on Friday, April 1, 2009

Hague and Ovchinin are in good health and join their families at Star City in Russia, where Roscosmos trains cosmonauts and astronauts for spaceflight, according to Rogozin. NASA and Roscosmos officials are in the aftermath of an emotional meeting with NASA and Roscosmos officials.

Roscosmos officials said Saturday (Oct. 13) that telemetry data and video recordings have been sent to the Soyuz manufacturer RSC Energia for review. Recovery teams have also recovered from every stage of the Soyuz rocket from the remote Kazakh steppes around Baikonur Cosmodrome so they can be studied in more detail. These rocket components should also be delivered Sunday (Oct. 14).

Krikalev told reporters Friday that Roscosmos officials are aiming to have an update on the Soyuz abort investigation by this Saturday (Oct. 20).

Russia's crew Soyuz spacecraft are currently only available to fly NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. NASA has contracts with two private American companies – SpaceX and Boeing – to fly Americans Into Space on Commercial Space, but they are not supposed to.

Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom and Facebook. Original article on Space.com.

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