[ad_1]
An eyewitness at Soyuz's unsuccessful launch to the International Space Station on 11 October saw a strange trail of smoke emerge from the crew of the rocket crew, which split to make a bold return to Earth.
Philip Grossman, an urban explorer and Science Channel collaborator, was in the viewing area for the launch of Expedition 57 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The viewing area includes a large platform on which people can watch the launch, about 1.5 km away.
Spectators can also watch a big screen with the live broadcast broadcast on the channel of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, but also listen to a speaker of the mission controllers in communication with the spacecraft. Grossman estimates that about 500 people stood there with him watching the rocket take off. [In Photos: Space Crew’s Harrowing Abort Landing After Soyuz Launch Failure]
On October 11, 2018, a Russian Soyuz rocket was taking off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, carrying American and Russian members of the Expedition 57 crew of the International Space Station. The rocket suffered a flight failure, forcing an abortion and emergency landing for its Soyuz capsule crew. Credit: Bill Ingalls / NASA
At first, Grossman said in a new Science Channel television channel, that everything seemed normal, much like a SpaceX rocket launch he had witnessed earlier this year. But then he noticed something a little different.
"Suddenly, probably a minute [and] twenty [seconds] or else in the launch, you could not hear any explosion, but you could see a trail of smoke. We heard through the speaker – of course, my Russian is very poor – but actually they said it was normal, "Grossman recalled.
He added that in general, he considered the launch a success, as the policies and procedures of the Russian space program allowed both crew members to get him off safely. "Even though they never had to use them [the procedures] for about 20 years now they [the astronauts] continues to practice them and has managed to eject them, "he said.
Astronaut Nick Hague of NASA and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin were reported in good physical health after their descent and landing. The two men spent the night with their families, NASA reported yesterday. Hague today thanked everyone on Twitter who supported him.
The cause of the abortion is still under investigation. Sergei Krikalev, former astronaut and current director of human spaceflight in Roscosmos, told reporters Friday (October 12) that until now, officials know that "the contact took place during the separation of the first and second steps … trajectory and damage to the bottom part of the second stage. "
Subsequently, the on-board computer stopped the second-stage engines and the Soyuz Launch Exhaust System was activated, removing the space shuttle from the rocket, he added. Krikalev added that the preliminary results of the survey should be ready by October 20.
Roscosmos immediately suspended all the flights of the rocket and the Soyuz spacecraft, but did not officially move the planned launches; the next crew, Expedition 58, was scheduled for December 20th. Yesterday, NASA suggested agencies consider several scenarios for future crew launches, if future Soyuz launches were delayed. This could include asking the current crew members of the space station to stay a little longer, temporarily turning off the International Space Station or other options.
follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Original article on Space.com.
[ad_2]
Source link
