15 votes

Astronauts escape malfunctioning Soyuz rocket

4 comments

  1. [3]
    Wes
    Link
    Live updates from NASA available here: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

    Live updates from NASA available here: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      unknown user
      Link Parent
      You should probably tag the original post with "roscosmos" as well, since Roscosmos launched the rocket.

      You should probably tag the original post with "roscosmos" as well, since Roscosmos launched the rocket.

      3 votes
      1. Wes
        Link Parent
        Added, thanks.

        Added, thanks.

        3 votes
  2. unknown user
    Link
    For some historical context: The first crewed launch of the Soyuz spacecraft, Soyuz 1 in 1967, was a failure, killing cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on re-entry. The parachute system failed, and the...

    For some historical context:

    • The first crewed launch of the Soyuz spacecraft, Soyuz 1 in 1967, was a failure, killing cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov on re-entry. The parachute system failed, and the spacecraft just plummeted into earth.
    • Soyuz 11 in 1971 was also a failure, killing three men this time: Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev. A series of failures caused the cabin to depressurise. This flight is why during all modern launches cosmonauts wear a pressure suit.
    • The so-called Soyuz 18a in 1975 almost killed two people, Vasily Lazarev and Oleg Makarov, but this time the emergency systems worked as intended and the cosmonauts successfully landed near the Soviet-Chinese border. The acceleration during the fall was estimated to be over 21 g.

    This case we have now looks a lot like the last, 1975 case, except since the altitude was lower, the acceleration was also probably not as drastic.


    On a side note, it's ironic that the crew whose mission was to investigate the mysterious hole in the Soyuz fell victims to a Soyuz malfunction.

    3 votes