Russian Soyuz rocket failure during mission to International Space Station 'caused by faulty sensor'

Sophie Williams31 October 2018

The failed launch of a Soyuz rocket carrying astronauts to the International Space Station was caused by a faulty sensor, according to reports.

An official from Russian space agency Roscosmos confirmed the cause on Wednesday, according to the country's media.

The rocket carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos’ Alexi Ovchinin blasted off at 2.40am local time on October 11.

The astronauts were forced to make an emergency landing in the Kazakhstan grasslands.

Soyuz Mission 57 to ISS - In Pictures

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Images after the landing show the two astronauts undergoing medical tests and having hot drinks following their dramatic landing.

The emergency is the latest mishap for the Russian space programme, which has been dogged by a string of launch failures and other incidents in recent years.

However it was the first manned launch failure for the Russian space programme since September 1983 when a Soyuz exploded on the launch pad.

It was the first rocket launch for Mr Hague while Mr Ovchinin spent six months on the space station in 2016.

In an interview with NASA TV, Mr Hague said: “Everything was new for me, it was my first time, so I have to give kudos to my commander Alexey Ovchinin. He is a seasoned, veteran cosmonaut.

“As we were going through all of this, he was able to tell me what’s normal. What’s not normal.”

He described the moment the alarm sounded in the capsule.

“The automated system pulled us away from the rocket so fast, and so the first thing I really noticed was being shaken fairly violently from side to side.

The Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft carrying the crew of astronaut Nick Hague of the U.S. and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin of Russia blasts off
REUTERS

“And then there was an alarm inside the capsule and the light that was up there….. I knew, once I saw that light, that we have an emergency with the booster and we are not going to make it to orbit that day.”

The next manned launch is reportedly predicted to take place on December 3, according to Roscosmos. It will then return the current ISS crew to earth on December 20.

Sergei Krikalyov, executive director of Rocosmos said: “The original plan was the current crew will return in the middle of December and the next one will replace it shortly afterwards. In order to avoid shifting the ISS to an unmanned mode the industry is exerting considerable efforts to make the launch possible on December 3.”

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