Russia suspended all launches after the failed start of the Union
An investigation revealed that the unsuccessful launch of the rocket 3 weeks ago was due to problems with the sensor damaged during assembly. The Soyuz-FG rocket with ISS crew members failed on October 11. This led to an emergency landing of an astronaut and an astronaut. None of them was hurt.
Russian official Oleg Skorobogatov previously reported that the problem was caused by faults in the sensor, but no one could explain why the mechanism did not work. Now the investigation suggests that the defect occurred at the stage of final assembly on the launch pad in Kazakhstan.
It is important not to forget that Russian rockets are produced in Russia, but the final assembly takes place at the Baikonur cosmodrome, leased by Russia from Kazakhstan. Skorobogatov said that it was the deformation that put the booster out of order at the first stage and pushed it with the fuel tank. This led to a loss of stabilization and caused an emergency landing.
The Soviet Union rocket developed in the USSR failed on October 11 a few minutes after launch.
The conference, where the problem was discussed, was also attended by representatives of NASA and ESA. The purpose of the event is to provide the public with information about what is happening.
Video from the Union recorded by Roskosmos showed how the rocket is rapidly changing direction and rotating after one of the four accelerators failed to separate from the total synchronization. During the interrupted launch, cosmonaut Sergei Ovchinin and astronaut Tyler Haig were forced to make an emergency landing. Fortunately, they did not suffer. It is worth recalling that the Russian and American space agencies praised the design of the Soyuz rocket and praised its stability. The Soviet rocket is still the most reliable.
Guilty side
Skorobogatov immediately stated that the commission eliminated the problem of production. The only possible place of occurrence of a problem can only be at Baikonur.
Astronaut Tyler Haig and cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin made an emergency landing and remained intact after the missile launch failed
Russian officials pledged to improve the surveillance system during spacecraft assembly. But they believe that this is an isolated incident that will not affect the reputation of the entire Russian space industry. Now law enforcement agencies will begin to search for a specific culprit. The commission has already recommended re-checking and additional training of collectors at Baikonur.
The next crew should start on the ISS on December 3. Oleg Kononenko (Russia), David Saint-Jacques (Canada) and Ann McClain (USA) will fly on the rocket.
