NASA thanks Russian military again for Soyuz launch error
Although the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft launch failed, the lives of the two astronauts were still safe, NASA thanked the effective rescue team.
Russia's Sputnik quoted a statement from the Russian Central Military District saying that the US space agency (NASA) thanked the Russian military for promptly rescuing astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin after an aborted Soyuz mission in October.
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| Rescue teams approach the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft's cockpit after escaping from the spacecraft. |
"In a solemn event, Roscosmos and NASA officials thanked the crews of the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft rescue team for their outstanding support during the emergency," the statement said.
The crews of the An-12 aircraft, Mi-8 helicopters and ground vehicles that took part in the emergency rescue operation were honored, the statement added. They included paratroopers, military doctors and rescue workers.
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| Graphic of the failed Soyuz MS-10 launch. Graphic: BBC |
Earlier, on October 11, the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft had to make an emergency landing after taking off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The incident occurred when the first and second stages of the rocket were separating from the spacecraft.
This is the first serious launch incident experienced by a Soyuz crew since 1983, when an explosion occurred at the launch pad.
The short video shows the two astronauts’ cabin shaking violently at the moment the error was reported. The astronauts noticed that, instead of putting more pressure on their bodies as they climbed higher, they felt more and more suspended in the spacecraft.
Doubts prompted the Russian cosmonaut to immediately use ballistic landing mode - an emergency landing method that causes the cockpit to hit the ground at a sharper angle than normal, with a G-force of 6, no different from a bullet.
The capsule immediately separated from the malfunctioning rocket, dove down and deployed parachutes, bringing the two astronauts to the ground.
Rescue teams were immediately deployed. Four helicopters carrying search and rescue teams were quickly dispatched to Zhezkazgan, where the crew landed after the accident (400 km northeast of the launch site). Nearly an hour after the accident, the rescue team found the cockpit, both cosmonauts were lucky to escape without any injuries.