BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan -- A Soyuz space capsule lifted off aboard a Soyuz launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station at 2:40 p.m. local time (8:40 a.m. UTC; 4:40 a.m. EDT) on October 11 carrying American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin. Shortly after launch, there was an anomaly with the booster and the launch ascent was aborted, resulting in a ballistic landing of the spacecraft.
Search and rescue teams were deployed to the landing site and Hague and Ovchinin have been are reported to be in good condition. They will be transported to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia outside of Moscow.
Russian space agency Roscosmos has formed a committee to investigate the anomaly, but no details were immediately available regarding the cause.
The launch failure highlights the need for American capsules to complete development and begin operations. Having redundancy is extremely important because if Soyuz is taken out of service during a months-long investigation, the ISS may need to be abandoned temporarily. However, at the same time, it highlights the need for safety and for Boeing and SpaceX to make sure they take every precaution to ensure safe transport of space station crews.
You have 0 item(s) in your cart