Russia blames a bad sensor for the failed launch of its rocket Soyuz

Russian Thursday Officials held a press conference to reveal that they had determined the cause of Soyuz's failure in mid-flight last month. The culprit: a damaged sensor on one of the four boosters of the rocket responsible for the separation of the floors. Upon completion of the investigation, officials announced that they would postpone the date of the crew's next launch to the International Space Station.

The investigation caught the attention of the international community as the Soyuz rocket is currently the only vehicle capable of transporting people to and from the ISS. Russian space agency officials confirmed that the defective sensor, designed to signal the separation of floors, caused an incorrect separation of one of the boosters. As a result, the first and second stages of the rocket struck, which in turn triggered the vehicle's emergency abandonment system.

"The failure of the launch was caused by the abnormal separation of one of the lanyard boosters that touched the central part of the fuel tank," said Oleg Skorobogatov, deputy director of the Central Institute for Research in Machine Construction. , who led the investigation, in a statement.

The video of the incident, published today by the space agency, shows the accident from the point of view of the rocket. In this message, the thruster in question strikes the nucleus of the rocket, causing a major jolt that triggered the abortion. According to officials, the distressed sensor rod was slightly bent when mounting the rocket. Russian authorities have indicated that all assembled Soyuz rockets – as well as their associated booster – would be dismantled and reinstalled for possible handling errors that could also affect other rockets.

Last month's incident marks the first failure of Russia's manned space flight program since 1983, when a Soyuz exploded on the launch pad. (The two Soviet cosmonauts on board, Vladimir Titov and Gennady Strekalov, were able to get to safety). This year's incident, however, was the second consecutive launch of a crew in which a quality control incident posed a serious problem. In August, members of the crew aboard the space station discovered an air leak from one of the Soyuz caps moored to the space station. The leak was finally located in a tiny hole in the Soyuz Orbital Module, and the crew members were able to repair the ship with ease. Nobody on board was in danger, but the leak was a source of controversy as officials look to determine how the hole was dug.

This problem, like the defective sensor, was most likely due to a manufacturing defect – in this case, a capricious drill hole. Roscosmos is still investigating the accident, but should not publish its findings before the end of the year. An exit in space is currently planned for December so that Russian cosmonauts can inspect the affected area.

Now that the cause of the launch anomaly has been determined, Roscosmos said the investigation commission had authorized the crew to take over the plane. The next flight, which was originally scheduled to take place on December 20th, should now start on December 3rd. This change will allow the current crew of the station, consisting of three: the US astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, the German commander Alexander Gerst and the Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev- return home a few days earlier than expected .

This is good news because each Soyuz satellite is only certified to remain docked at the space station for approximately 200 days. The life of their lifeboat expiring in January, this flight will ensure that the orbital outpost is not left vacant. At present, the Russian space shuttle Soyuz is the only vehicle capable of transporting crews to the ISS.

Russia has several scheduled flights before the next stages of the crew. The Soyuz is available in several configurations (capable of launching people and payloads) that share a common separation system. Last week, a Soyuz 2-1b was successfully launched, carrying a military reconnaissance satellite in space. On November 16, a Soyuz will carry a Russian cargo ship to the space station. These flights will give Soyuz the opportunity to rebuild his reputation before he returns to transport people.

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