They'll be fine
Posted on 10/11/2018 8:25:14 AM PDT by Navy Patriot
U.S. and Russian astronauts were forced to make an emergency landing Thursday after their booster rocket failed in mid-air moments after the launch, according to NASA.
The two crew members were in “good condition” and had been reunited with their families at the Russia-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the agency said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Then say goodbye to those ancient Soviet fossils.
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That fossil has had several successful launches. This is the first failure of this model, and the crew still returned safely. That’s a much better record than the Shuttle.
They'll be fine
My guess is the current ISS crew can stay there for some time and be resupplied from a variety of launch providers.
Good thing we have the space shuttle to get to the ISS..........
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If this crew had a similar failure on the Shuttle, they would be dead.
” A PRIVATE COMPANY doing space better than NASA ever did”
Hah!
You know that all the other space ships we ever launched were build by private companies too, right? On a NASA contract? The only difference now is how the contract and program is structured, because the Dragon was also built was NASA money.
The space shuttle was built by Rockwell International. Heck even launch operations in Florida were sub contracted. Just because SpaceX has better PR does not mean we have not always had a space program built on the backs of private companies.
Russia and US cooperation in the NASA and International Space Station arena is pretty much routine and extra political.
Russian equipment, though extremely durable, is getting to the end of it's efficiency lifespan, and will need upgrades.
I am unsure of the implications of the investigations.
FYI:
On that rocket, there are four liquid fueled side boosters that separate first, while the core of the first stage still operates.
NASA video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUwnLFKfuBE
The escape system was jettisoned prior to booster failure.
The failure appears to have occurred at faring separation.(3:26 into the above video.)
One hell of a ride, boys!!
Yeah, but they have been drinking each others urine for an aweful long time now.......
They probably would have been. I remember doing the shuttle RTLS (Return To Launch Site) drills years ago. I don’t believe anyone thought it was doable. But I suppose it made someone FEEL better. TAL landings? Maybe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_(rocket_family)
The Soyuz rocket has been having Quality Control issues for years now.
Finally caught up with a crewed launch, previous failures had been with cargo flights.
Goes back to the initial ISS plan back when the SST was the main conveyance, and the Russian craft was going to be the emergency escape vehicle for the 3-person crew living there.
There was always Spain...assuming enough altitude.
I believe this is not the first time the Russians had to use emergency escape procedures during a Soyuz mission launch. We do know there was one other time they had to make an emergency descent during launch (this was way back in 1975) and the launch escape system was used in 1983 when the rocket caught fire while still on the launch pad.
The current schedule is for SpaceX to launch a demo flight with two guys aboard in June. They won’t go to the ISS.
Boeing’s competitive vehicle is scheduled for August.
SpaceX has no contract for supplying people to the ISS. Nor does Boeing.
It will be Soyuz for a long time to come. At least a year. Maybe more.
I think the old crew takes the older Soyuz back, just to keep the emergency escape plan "fresh" on the ISS.
Supposedly Roskosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and astronaut Nick Haig pictured in the immediate aftermath of the terrifying incident.
They probably would have been. I remember doing the shuttle RTLS (Return To Launch Site) drills years ago. I don’t believe anyone thought it was doable. But I suppose it made someone FEEL better. TAL landings? Maybe.
John Young said that “RTLS would require continuous miracles interspersed with acts of God to be successful.”
Crip said they all figured the RTLS checklist was just something to keep them occupied while waiting to die.
Contract for Soyuz to deliver crews to the ISS ends in 2019.
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