Manned Soyuz' booster fails enroute to ISS, crew safe

[Grey Havoc]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-launch-russia/rocket-carrying-space-station-crew-fails-in-mid-air-crew-safe-idUSKCN1ML123

 

[Michel Van]

here the Launch video
https://youtu.be/c0l5QBmqQoI

Note something happen during Booster separation and LES jettison
you see how cosmonauts are shake true during the event.

 

[Michel Van]

Here better Video
https://youtu.be/CnQlj73NIm4

Note at 2:20 mark
there something lighting up, follow by plume in exhaust then a cloud form, then booster and piece emerge out that cloud

That could indicate that one of Booster had engine malfunction seconds before jettison

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz-ms-10.html

 

[fredymac]

So the failure occurred after the launch escape motor was jettisoned and the Soyuz was still connected to the booster. They would have had to detach from the booster and also dump the round orbital segment and the service segment with the solar arrays all while going through a ballistic arc.

 

[FighterJock]

Just seen the BBC News article on the malfunctioning rocket (I have posted the link below) it is good news that they are safe.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45822845

 

[Archibald]

Yup.

Most important thing: the crew is alive and well.
this said

- damn (as in John Hammond DAMN !)

- it happened at a peculiar moment, only months before Boeing and SpaceX crew vehicles end the gap

- this won't help U.S - Russia relationship, on the ISS (the leak !) and on the ground

- third launch abort for the Soyuz, third time the crew was saved. This one was right between 18A in 1975 and T-10A in 1983.

- worse mishap in manned spaceflight since STS-107

- the decline of Russia space program quality control continues, and perhaps worsen.
- The issues that send so many Protons and other rockets cartwheeeling into the ground over the last 10 years have NOT been solved.

- and, that's official, ISS had no crewed launch vehicle for the first time in its history.
- Shuttle is long gone, Soyuz is down, CTS-100 and Dragon 2: not yet.
(Of course the on-orbit crew is still up there, with a Soyuz in case of emergency, so let's not fall into that trap, plus the ISS doesn't need a crew to stay in orbit, of course)

This is not the end of the ISS by any mean, of course, but it is one heck of an annoying setback, and at the wrong moment with that.

Vlad Putin reaction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_Qkj9Aa1TY

 

[Flyaway]

From the NASA YouTube channel.

Crew safe after Soyuz launch abort.

https://youtu.be/LUwnLFKfuBE

Russian reports talking of the first stage, that’s the four strap on boosters, impacting the second stage.

 

[Flyaway]

Some U.K. media are now referring to Russia launching a criminal investigation.

https://news.sky.com/story/emergency-landing-for-astronauts-as-rocket-fails-11523326

 

[TomS]

Some U.K. media are now referring to Russia launching a criminal investigation.

https://news.sky.com/story/emergency-landing-for-astronauts-as-rocket-fails-11523326

I would not necessarily read anything into that. I think it's pretty much automatic in Russian aerospace accident investigations for there to be a parallel criminal investigation. They did the same for an airplane crash in Sochi last month.

 

[robunos]

Information on what's supposed to happen, and what can go wrong . . .

http://kik-sssr.ru/IP_4_Turatam_old_Razdel_1.htm


cheers,
Robin.

 

[Flyaway]

By the sounds of this new SN article it sounds like the Russians expect to be up and running again soon.

Soyuz investigators hone in on booster separation, promise conclusions Oct. 20

Krikalev suggested the investigation may be swift, promising results by Oct. 20. Though Russia has suspended Soyuz flights amid the investigation, launches have yet to be officially delayed or rescheduled — indicating Roscosmos is hopeful to quickly resolve the problem with minimal interruption to ISS operations and other Soyuz missions.

 

[Flyaway]

https://www.roscosmos.ru/25607/

On Sunday, October 14, parts of all the stages of Soyuz-FG, which suffered an accident during launch on Thursday, October 11, will be delivered to the Samara enterprise of the RCC Progress center (manufacturer of launch vehicles of the Soyuz family).

At the beginning of the next week, the flight testing commission will begin work at RCC Progress, which will study fragments of the stages of an emergency launch vehicle to form a further conclusion.

Roscosmos plans to speed up the preparation of a new launch vehicle in order to decide as soon as possible on the schedule for further launches. The decision on the schedule will be made immediately after permission is given for the further operation of the launch vehicles of this family.

 

[Flyaway]

Soyuz MS-10 Failure extended (stabilization, zoom 2x, slow motion 25% with frame interpolation)

AstronautiCAST
Published on Oct 14, 2018

Edit by Riccardo Rossi (ISAA) - Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License -

Original footage courtesy of Roscosmos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rROPB0QrZVY

 

[Michel Van]

Soyuz MS-10 Failure extended (stabilization, zoom 2x, slow motion 25% with frame interpolation)

Looking this Video
It seems that Trouble start with Jettisons of LES at 0:16-0:20
Follow of that dark cloud in rocket exhaust at 0:23
if i interpret it right three of booster (right/down/top) detach at 0:26
the Left Booster is not to see and white cloud form at 0:27
as Cloud dissolve at 0:34 you see seven piece, four of them are booster
the Core stage engine are not working, start to rotate on long axe

 

[TomS]

This fits with what has been disclosed. The tower jettison is scheduled for a few seconds before the first stage boosters (T+1.4 in the mission), so there's nothing abnormal until T+1.58 in the mission. (Some grey smoke may be related to throttling down the kerelox boosters cutting their oxygen supply at separation.) At that point, the Russians say one of the pyros that is supposed to separate the first stage boosters from the second stage core didn't function, so you had one booster still burning and strapped to the core at a single point. Booster then rotated into the core and that's the catastrophic failure we see.

The Soyuz LES has a couple of elements -- the tower jettisons just before staging to reduce weight for the second stage. At that point, rocket motors in the shroud are the main abort motors for getting the capsule away from the stack, and that's what functioned in this mission. The shroud goes away something like 40 seconds after the tower jettison and the Soyuz capsule is on its own at that point.

 

[Flyaway]

RSC Energia. Details about the emergency rescue system

10/17/2018 10:06

https://www.roscosmos.ru/25623/

On October 16, a meeting with representatives of the media was held at RSC Energia. Igor Khamitsa, Deputy Chief Designer of Advanced Space Systems and RSC Energia systems, spoke about the crew rescue emergency response facilities (SAS) of the Soyuz launch vehicle and answered questions from journalists.

A clear triggering of the SAS during an emergency situation during the launch of the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft, which ensured the safe return of the crew to Earth, caused keen media interest in the system, which was developed at RSC Energia in cooperation with other enterprises in the industry. The meeting was organized so that, according to its results, the journalists could convey to the audience a comprehensive and, most importantly, reliable information.

Igor Khamitsa spoke in detail to the representatives of the press about the creation and basic principles of the CAC, as well as the logic of the operation of all systems of the ship and the launch vehicle during an emergency situation.

“The emergency rescue system was developed by the followers of Korolev and modernized over the years. It saves the crew throughout all phases of the flight, starting from the moment when the astronauts take their seats in the ship. The system automatically tracks all phases of the flight. Having received the “launch vehicle crash” signal, the SAS worked for a tenth of a second - and the crew returned safely to Earth, ”noted Igor Hamits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqEpCDCnduU

 

[Grey Havoc]

Via Slashdot: https://www.cnet.com/news/nasa-astronaut-details-fall-to-earth-after-failed-soyuz-launch/

 

[Flyaway]

https://ria.ru/space/20181020/1531094932.html

MOSCOW, October 20 - RIA News. The assemblers at Baikonur forcefully connected the side block of the Soyuz-FG rocket to the central unit, bent one of the mounting lugs and put the lubricant inwards so that it would come out when divided in flight, a rocket and space industry source familiar with the investigation told RIA Novosti.

According to him, on the thrust bearing - a special recess on the central unit of the second stage - there are two grooves on the sides, on the spherical bearing of the side unit of the first stage - two projections, and on the front part - a stem, which is clamped when placed in the thrust bearing.

“When it opens, a signal goes to the pyro lock opening the jet nozzle cover of the oxidizer tank to divert the side unit from the central unit. Assemblers during installation, when they connected the steps to the“ bag ”(four blocks of the first and second steps. - Ed.) the left ledge slightly bent, he didn’t immediately enter the groove - and he was driven out with force. When the step fell on him with the whole mass, the ledges, in fact, stood in a strut. interlocutor of the agency.

Thus, due to the bent protrusion, the ball bearing of the side unit could not easily get out of the thrust bearing and rammed the central unit during the flight, and then, at the exit, the stem sensor still worked and the valve opened, but by that time an emergency situation had occurred he explained.
According to the source, at the meeting of the emergency commission at the Progress Rocket and Space Center in Samara, the issue of production culture was raised, but experts said that such deviations from the technological documentation of the rocket assembly occur from time to time.

A source earlier said that the Roskosmos commission and the investigating authorities identified possible perpetrators of damage to one of the sensors of the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle and the state commission is inclined to the version of the "accidental departure from the documentation" by collectors at Baikonur.

Today, the state commission must sign the final results of the investigation and present them to the head of Roskosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, and the public will be informed about them early next week, RIA Novosti was told in a state corporation.

 

[Flyaway]

NASA administrator says Russians on track for December Soyuz flight to station

Russian engineers have a “really, really good idea” about what went wrong during a Soyuz launch to the International Space Station Oct. 11, forcing the ship’s two-man crew to carry out an emergency abort, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Tuesday. He added that he expects the Russians to resume piloted Soyuz flights in December.

 

[Michel Van]

interesting interpretation what happen
by Hazegrayart

https://youtu.be/ocn7aLqEq-Q

 

[Archibald]

Geez, this Hazegrayart fellow is pretty gifted CGI artist. His youtube chain has some good gems https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh2dnrLCNHDS2IV9I2R58Pw/videos

My favorite one is the Sea Dragon. Completely mind blowing.

Edit, 30 minutes later. I've checked the man Youtube channel. My space nerd mind is completely blown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rum0h4TFUM0

(sounds of my jaw hitting the floor). This.is.space.PORN. Wow. Freakkin' space porn.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh2dnrLCNHDS2IV9I2R58Pw/videos

God. bless.this.guy.

 

[Arjen]

Yay! I urgently need to watch 2001 again.

 

[Flyaway]

#BreakingNews. Sergei Krikalev called the cause of the accident with the #SoyuzFG, which occurred on October 11. It has become a non-standard operation of the sensor, signaling the separation of the first and second stages of the rocket.
@NASASpaceflight

@SciGuySpace

@planet4589

https://twitter.com/katlinegrey/status/1057567951732252672

 

[Boxman]

Here's on-board video from the Soyuz core stage showing the failure. Things begin to go wrong at the 1-min 23-sec mark of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrzlMTRVt_I

 

[Flyaway]

Edited video with close-up and slowed down separation from the Soyuz MS-10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1bCikeXFcA

And in-depth article following today’s Russian state commission report.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/11/soyuz-ms-10-abort-sensor-failure-booster-separation/

 

[Michel Van]

little bit off topic
but a Soyuz hit by lightning...