Miracle on edge of space
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TWO cosmonauts hurtled back down to earth yesterday in a capsule that had reached 3000mph when its boosters failed at 164,000 feet.
The Russian Soyuz MS-10 had blasted off in the morning carrying a Russian and an American on their way to the International Space Station.
But the craft they were travelling in had to be jettisoned when the boosters went into emergency shutdown 90 seconds after launch.
Amazingly, astronauts Alexey Ovchinin and Nick Hague survived – and both are said to be “in good condition”.
As they plummeted to the ground they experienced gravitational forces of more than 20G – 4G can lead to blackout for pilots. Footage from inside the capsule showed them being shaken around. They had reported feeling weightless when they should have felt pushed back into their seats.
Parachutes were deployed as they went into a “ballistic descent”, meaning they landed at a sharper angle than normal, according to Nasa.
Paratroopers were dropped over the landing site and the men were picked up by rescuers.
Russia has suspended all manned space launches and an inquiry will try to determine whether safety regulations were violated during construction of the rocket.
It had taken off for a four-orbit, six-hour journey from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the
ISS. The two astronauts were due to spend six months on the station.
Soyuz is one of the oldest rocket designs, but also one of the safest.
The malfunction appeared to occur around what is termed “staging”, where the craft ditches its empty fuel segments.
The emergency descent has been carried out once before, in 1975, when astronauts had to undergo forces force of 21G.
The mishap is the latest in a series for Russia’s space programme, which has faced 13 technical failures since 2010.
The Soyuz craft is the only vehicle now used to ferry crews to the ISS after the retirement of the US space shuttle fleet.
Russia’s deputy prime minister, Yuri Borisov, said no more manned missions would take place “until we believe the entire situation guarantees safety”.
He rejected suggestions the incident could harm US relations, saying they recognised it was a “hi-tech industry linked to risk”.
He added: “We won’t conceal the reasons, it’s uncommon for such situations.”
Space co-operation is an area that has survived otherwise tense relations between Russia and the US.
Nasa has been paying to ferry astronauts to the ISS since 2011.
The launch malfunction is thought to be the first for a Soyuz booster since 1983.
In August, a hole appeared in a capsule docked to the ISS. Russia said it may have been drilled “deliberately”.
We won’t conceal the reasons, it’s uncommon for such situations RUSSIA DEPUTY PM YURI BORISOV ON CRASH PROBE