Video Caption: Dramatic video from the Soyuz
MS-10 launch on Oct. 11, 2018 showing
the moment of separation and its destructive aftermath of
booster collision–
taken from a rear facing camera on the side of the Soyuz FG booster. The two person
Russian-American crew survived unharmed. Credit: Roscosmos
Ken Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com -- 2 November 2018
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – Russian investigators have determined that the ultimate cause of the harrowing emergency abort of the failed Soyuz crew launch with two crewmembers strapped inside on Oct. 11 can be traced to a defective "deformed sensor" in one of the four strap-on boosters jettisoned from the core booster approximately 2 minutes after blastoff of the Soyuz FG rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, a Russian State Committee announced Nov. 1.
The sensor failure was pinned on “deformation” damage to the sensor somehow caused during final assembly of the Soyuz booster - that went undetected. Exactly how the damage occurred was not disclosed by investigators.
The mishap during the Soyuz-FG LV/ Soyuz MS-10 spaceship launch on Oct 11 was traced to an “abnormal separation” of one of the strap-on boosters,” Oleg Skorobogatov, deputy director of Russia’s Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIIMASH) told reporters in Moscow, Thursday, Nov. 1.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – Russian investigators have determined that the ultimate cause of the harrowing emergency abort of the failed Soyuz crew launch with two crewmembers strapped inside on Oct. 11 can be traced to a defective "deformed sensor" in one of the four strap-on boosters jettisoned from the core booster approximately 2 minutes after blastoff of the Soyuz FG rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, a Russian State Committee announced Nov. 1.
The sensor failure was pinned on “deformation” damage to the sensor somehow caused during final assembly of the Soyuz booster - that went undetected. Exactly how the damage occurred was not disclosed by investigators.
The mishap during the Soyuz-FG LV/ Soyuz MS-10 spaceship launch on Oct 11 was traced to an “abnormal separation” of one of the strap-on boosters,” Oleg Skorobogatov, deputy director of Russia’s Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIIMASH) told reporters in Moscow, Thursday, Nov. 1.
The failure findings
were announced during the Nov. 1 media briefing following a thorough investigation
carried out by a Russian State Commission led by Oleg Skorobogatov - that was formed immediately after the accident
to determine the cause and corrective actions so that Soyuz crewed launches to the International Space Station (ISS) could be resumed as soon as possible.
“The launch ended up with a launcher failure caused by abnormal separation of one of the strap-on boosters (Block D) that hit with its nose the core stage (Block A) in the fuel tank area,” said Skorobogatov.
“It resulted in its decompression and, as consequence, the space rocket lost its attitude control.”
“This was the cause of the off-nominal separation.”
The Russian State Committee released a dramatic video showing the moment of separation and its destructive aftermath of booster collision– taken from a rear facing camera on the side of the Soyuz FG booster. See the video above.
“The launch ended up with a launcher failure caused by abnormal separation of one of the strap-on boosters (Block D) that hit with its nose the core stage (Block A) in the fuel tank area,” said Skorobogatov.
“It resulted in its decompression and, as consequence, the space rocket lost its attitude control.”
“This was the cause of the off-nominal separation.”
The Russian State Committee released a dramatic video showing the moment of separation and its destructive aftermath of booster collision– taken from a rear facing camera on the side of the Soyuz FG booster. See the video above.
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Dramatic photo from the Soyuz MS-10 launch on
Oct. 11, 2018 showing the
moment of separation and its destructive aftermath of
booster collision –
taken from a rear facing camera on the side of the Soyuz FG booster.. The two person
Russian-American crew survived unharmed. Credit: Roscosmos
|
The American/Russian
crew comprising NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin
survived unharmed and safely landed 34
minutes after liftoff.
The separation failure resulted in a collision of one of the first stage strap boosters with the second stage which then triggered a harrowing emergency separation of the Soyuz MS-10 crew capsule from the Soyuz FG carrier rocket.
The second stage apparently disintegrated shortly after the anomaly occurred about 119 seconds after liftoff and about a second after first stage separation from the strap on boosters.
“The abnormal separation was caused by the non-opening of the lid of the nozzle intended to separate aside Block D oxidizer tank due to the deformation of the separation sensor pin (bended by 6˚45‘),” the investigators explained.
“It was damaged during the assembling of the strap-on boosters with the core stage (the Packet) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The LV failure cause is of the operational nature and spreads to the stock of already assembled packets of the Soyuz rocket.”
As a result of the conclusions of the committee all Soyuz booster are being thoroughly inspected to search for any defects and confirm they are ready, suitable and qualified to resume future Soyuz rocket launches in November.
“To ensure the implementation of the Launch Manifest for the missions under the Federal Space Program and Russia’s international cooperation programs, Roscosmos has arranged a development of preventive measures to avoid any such contingences in the future and taking of urgent actions to resume Soyuz launches in November 2018.”
The separation failure resulted in a collision of one of the first stage strap boosters with the second stage which then triggered a harrowing emergency separation of the Soyuz MS-10 crew capsule from the Soyuz FG carrier rocket.
The second stage apparently disintegrated shortly after the anomaly occurred about 119 seconds after liftoff and about a second after first stage separation from the strap on boosters.
“The abnormal separation was caused by the non-opening of the lid of the nozzle intended to separate aside Block D oxidizer tank due to the deformation of the separation sensor pin (bended by 6˚45‘),” the investigators explained.
“It was damaged during the assembling of the strap-on boosters with the core stage (the Packet) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The LV failure cause is of the operational nature and spreads to the stock of already assembled packets of the Soyuz rocket.”
As a result of the conclusions of the committee all Soyuz booster are being thoroughly inspected to search for any defects and confirm they are ready, suitable and qualified to resume future Soyuz rocket launches in November.
“To ensure the implementation of the Launch Manifest for the missions under the Federal Space Program and Russia’s international cooperation programs, Roscosmos has arranged a development of preventive measures to avoid any such contingences in the future and taking of urgent actions to resume Soyuz launches in November 2018.”
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Launch of the Russian Soyuz rocket and Soyuz MS-10 capsule
with a two person American Russian crew on Oct. 11, 2018 that failed shortly
after liftoff from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan and forced an abort and
emergency landing. Credit: Roscosmos
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A Soyuz-FG rocket launch with
Russian Progress MS-10 resupply ship slated for Nov. 16 was “approved by the
State Committee.”
The
committee also release a detailed graphic of the events – see below in Russian.
“The
Emergency Crew Rescue System of Soyuz MS-10 spaceship functioned properly.
The crew was acting as required by the on-board instructions and
those given by the Mission Control Center.”
Altogether there are four strap-on boosters comprising the
first stage which are attached to the second stage. Three of the strap-ons clearly
separated - as seen in photos taken at the time by NASA photographer Bill
Ingalls and others. The fourth was not visible in Ingalls’s photo released by
NASA and included herein.
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The Russian Soyuz
MS-10 spacecraft is launched with Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Nick Hague of
NASA and Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, Oct. 11, 2018 at the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. During the Soyuz spacecraft's climb to orbit,
an anomaly occurred, resulting in an abort downrange, showing the crew capsule separation
and apparent booster disintegration. The crew was quickly recovered and is in
good condition. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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The automatic
abort system of the extremely reliable Soyuz booster then kicked in exactly as
it was designed to in a split second – and saved the lives of Soyuz MS-10 crew launch comprising NASA astronaut
Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin who planned to spend 6 months
aboard the International Space Station as members of the Expedition 57 crew.
This demonstrated the robustness of the Soyuz rocket abort preparations and planning.
Hague and
Ovchinin soft landed safely after a ballistic descent and in good health back
on Earth about 34 minutes after liftoff.
They flew to about 50 km altitude followed by a
parachute assisted ballistic trajectory touchdown in remote Kazakhstan some 250 miles (400 km) downrange and east of the Baikonur launch
site.
They briefly experienced G-forces up to about 6 to 7 G’s as well as a few moments of weightlessness during the initial descent along the ballistic descent trajectory.
The astronaut, cosmonaut crew are now safely back home following the Soyuz launch abort just two minutes after liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Oct. 11, at 11:40 a.m. Moscow time, 4:40 a.m. EDT (2:40 p.m. in Baikonur) on a mission scheduled to deliver them to the International Space Station.
The Soyuz capsule made a ballistic emergency landing in a remote area in Kazakhstan east of the town of Dzhezkazgan, a staging area for crews for normal landings located 250 miles (400 km) from the Baikonur launch site.
This demonstrated the robustness of the Soyuz rocket abort preparations and planning.
 |
ISS Expedition 57
crew members Alexey Ovchinin and Nick Hague pose in front of their Soyuz MS-10
spacecraft prior to launch Oct. 11, 2018. Credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov
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They briefly experienced G-forces up to about 6 to 7 G’s as well as a few moments of weightlessness during the initial descent along the ballistic descent trajectory.
The astronaut, cosmonaut crew are now safely back home following the Soyuz launch abort just two minutes after liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Oct. 11, at 11:40 a.m. Moscow time, 4:40 a.m. EDT (2:40 p.m. in Baikonur) on a mission scheduled to deliver them to the International Space Station.
The Soyuz capsule made a ballistic emergency landing in a remote area in Kazakhstan east of the town of Dzhezkazgan, a staging area for crews for normal landings located 250 miles (400 km) from the Baikonur launch site.
Hague and Ovchinin were on their way to start a
fast four orbit trip to the ISS to start Expedition 57 and join the crew of
three aboard: Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space
Agency), NASA Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos Flight Engineer
Sergey Prokopyev.
The ISS is currently crewed only by the
reduced Expedition 57 crew of three. Their Soyuz capsule is only validated to
remain in orbit until early January 2019.
The next Soyuz launch had been scheduled for December 20
with a three person crew comprising Soyuz MS-11
commander Oleg Kononenko, Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques and NASA
astronaut Anne McClain.
NASA and Roscosmos hope to move that up to early December
if all goes well with the resumption of Soyuz rocket launches
This was the first failure of the
Soyuz FG rocket in 35 years when a rocket exploded on the launch pad
at Baikonur in 1983 and the crew escaped via the launch abort rocket on top of
the capsule.
Since the 1960s
there have been more than 160 unmanned and manned launches of the Soyuz
spacecraft.
Next up for NASA is launch of the Cygnus NG-10 cargo freighter on a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying 3.7 tons of science and supplies- read our articles about touring Cygnus and Antares.
Watch for Ken’s
continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin,
Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space
Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility,
Virginia.
Next up for NASA is launch of the Cygnus NG-10 cargo freighter on a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying 3.7 tons of science and supplies- read our articles about touring Cygnus and Antares.
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The Northrop Grumman built
Cygnus NG-10 cargo spacecraft is prepped inside clean room High Bay facility at
NASA Wallops and named in honor NASA astronaut and Apollo 16 moonwalker John
Young on Oct. 24, 2018. Blastoff on
Antares rocket is slated for Nov. 15, 2018 from pad 0A at NASA's Wallops Flight
Facility in Virginia bound for the International Space Station.
Credit: Ken
Kremer/kenkremer.com/SpaceUpClose.com
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Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research
scientist and journalist based in the KSC area.
………….
Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events
Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events
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This beautiful mural at the
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex showcases the International
Space Station where the two man
American/Russian crew were heading until the emergency in flight Soyuz
abort shortly after liftoff this
morning Oct. 11, 2018 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Thankfully their Soyuz
MS-10 capsule ejected and
they landed safe. The mural art highlights the cooperation of the multinational
partners who make ISS possible
to carry out science for all humankind - backdropped by the shuttle that hauled
most of it to orbit. Credit: Ken
Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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| ISS partners graphic. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com |
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