In Today’s Deep Space Extra… The dramatic launch abort Thursday of a Russian Soyuz rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS) with a NASA astronaut and Russian cosmonaut generated growing speculation over the future of the orbiting science lab and the return of the three U.S., European and Russian astronauts currently on board. NASA’s Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, however, landed safely in remote Kazakhstan aboard their Soyuz capsule and were quickly reunited with their families.
Human Space Exploration
NASA to look at options to keep crew on ISS while Soyuz grounded
SpaceNews.com (10/11): The in-flight abort early Thursday of Russia’s International Space Station (ISS) bound MS-10 spacecraft with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin aboard leaves the future of the U.S. European and Russian crew already on board the Station uncertain while an investigation into the incident is underway. The Soyuz capsule separated from the launch vehicle’s second stage and descended onto the ground of Kazakhstan not far from the launch site with the two men safe and sound. But Russia’s Soyuz has provided the only means of transporting fliers to and from the Station since the shuttle’s retirement in 2011. NASA’s Serena Aunon Chancellor, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Alexander Gerst and Russia’s Sergey Prokopyev are not scheduled to depart for Earth until mid-December, but their stay may now be extended.
Roscosmos reveals cause for Soyuz launch failure
TASS of Russia (10/12): A collision between elements of the Soyuz FG .rocket’s first and second stages is the primary cause of the launch abort early Thursday, according to Sergei Krikalev, the executive director for manned flights for Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. “A deviation from the standard trajectory occurred and apparently the lower part of the second stage disintegrated. The rocket stopped its normal flight and after that the automatic system did its work,” Krikalyev said. The capsule with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin was separated from the launch vehicle by the rocket’s automated flight control system and made a steep but safe descent to Earth with the two men.
A Russian Soyuz rocket launch failed, but its abort safety system saved lives
Space.com (10/11): Russia’s aging Soyuz crew transport may offer the only means of launching and landing astronauts assigned to the International Space Station (ISS). But it displayed its robustness early Thursday as it safely aborted a launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with two U.S. and Russian astronauts bound to the orbiting science lab. Operations of the earliest model of the Soyuz with cosmonauts aboard date to the late 1960s.
NASA: Astronauts ‘in great shape’ after emergency rocket landing
USA Today (10/11): After Russian search and rescue personnel responded to Russia’s Soyuz MS-10 launch abort early Thursday, NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexey Ovchinin were flown back to their launch site, the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where they were reunited with family and evaluated by medical personnel. NASA pronounced the two men in “great shape.”
Space Science
Israel’s maiden Moon launch delayed to 2019
AFP (10/11): Space IL, of Israel, announced this week its lunar mission, planned for a December SpaceX launch, has been delayed until early 2019. The mission’s goal in part is to assess the Moon’s magnetic field.
A centuries-old astronomical mystery is solved
Cosmos Magazine (10/12): Astronomers from Arizona State and colleagues from around the world using a large radio observatory in Chile appear to have solved a 350 year old mystery over what was believed to be the formation of a new star. Instead, the mysterious light that mystified early astronomers was most likely a stellar collision, they report.
Other News
Boeing invests in satellite startup Accion as U.S. focuses on space
Coalition Member in the News – Boeing
Washington Examiner (10/10): The Boeing Co. is impressed enough with Boston-based Accion to invest in its novel new satellite propulsion technology. Accion’s Tile propulsion system features nontoxic propellants and postage stamp sized thrusters for satellites.
Paul Allen’s giant Stratolaunch plane gets closer to first flight with 80 mph taxi test
GeekWire.com (10/11): The world’s largest airplane, the emerging airborne rocket launch platform Stratolaunch financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen carried out additional pre-flight runway taxi tests on Thursday at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California on Thursday.