[ad_1]
-
In this handout provided by NASA, American astronaut Nick Hague of NASA embraces his wife after landing at the Krayniy Airport after an aborted launch of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft headed to the International Space Station. The crew was quickly recovered in good condition.
less
In this handout provided by NASA, NASA's American astronaut Nick Hague embraces his wife's Catie after landing at the Krayniy Airport after an aborted launch of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft headed to
… more
Photo: Bill Ingalls / NASA, Handout / NASA Via Getty Images
In this handout provided by NASA, American astronaut Nick Hague of NASA embraces his wife after landing at the Krayniy Airport after an aborted launch of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft headed to the International Space Station. The crew was quickly recovered in good condition.
less
In this handout provided by NASA, NASA's American astronaut Nick Hague embraces his wife's Catie after landing at the Krayniy Airport after an aborted launch of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft headed to
… more
Photo: Bill Ingalls / NASA, Handout / NASA Via Getty Images
The launch to the International Space Station has been broken down by the Russian authorities on Wednesday.
The rocket's first stage "during the separation", "Sergey Krikalev, Russian state space corporation Roscosmos' executive director for manned programs, told state-run news agency TASS.
Earlier this month, American astronaut Nick Hague, 43, and his crew mate, Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, were aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft rocketing to the space station when the launch was aborted, forcing an emergency landing. It was the first aborted launch of Soyuz spacecraft in 35 years. Both Hague and Ovchinin were safe and in good condition after the landing.
Krikalev said, and officials still think they can move to the space station, currently scheduled for Dec. 20.
NASA could not be reached for comment.
Since NASA's space shuttle program was shuttered in 2011, the agency has relied on Russia to ferry American astronauts to the station. NASA has billions of dollars on the space station in its 20-year lifetime, but it is grounded until Russia spells out what caused the aborted launch.
NASA's Serena Auñón-Chancellor, who is currently living on the space station, said in an interview Wednesday with the Houston Chronicle that having two fewer crew members on board has not impacted their schedule at all.
"It's interesting, we talked about how we went from six [crewmembers] "Auñón-Chancellor said." It was definitely a change, but it did not affect our schedule at all. "
Krikalev said Wednesday that the Dec. 20 flight – carrying NASA 's Ann McClain, and two others – could be moved up to Dec. 3, according to TASS.
That means the current crew on station – including Auñón-Chancellor – could return around Dec. 20, he added.
Auñón-Chancellor said the crew is always prepared to stay on the station or leave early. Spaceflight is hard, she added, and they are ready for anything.
"We were well aware of launching abort systems, we trained to fix holes in a case we have a leak," she said. "For us, when we're in training, we practice like we play."
Hague's first spaceflight since being tapped as an astronaut in 2013. NASA officials are not sure when he will get to fly again, but Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Roscosmos, said he and Ovchinin would get to fly again in spring 2019.
How that would work still is unclear. The Soyuz 'April 2019 NASA has yet to offer insight into the development.
Soyuz-related problem Soyuz attached to the station. The hole has been plugged, but Russia continues to investigate how it has happened.
NASA expects that investigation to conclude in December.
As Auñón-Chancellor and her crewmates wait for more direction from NASA and the Russians, she said it's business as usual in low earth orbit, where the space station flies.
"We're already looking forward to the next crew flying up here," she said. "We learn to trust [the countries’] investigations … we rely on the countries to come out. "
Alex Stuckey writes about NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at [email protected] or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.
[ad_2]
Source link
