Astronauts Escape Malfunctioning Soyuz

[Bryanpoprobson]

(from the bbc)
A capsule carrying the two crew members of a Russian Soyuz rocket that malfunctioned on lift-off has landed safely in Kazakhstan.

Russian Cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and US astronaut Nick Hague are reported to be "in good condition", both Nasa and Russian media said.

Search and rescue teams are now en route to the landing site.

The rocket had taken off for the International Space Station (ISS) when it suffered a problem with its booster.

The crew had to return in "ballistic descent mode", Nasa tweeted, which it explained was "a sharper angle of landing compared to normal".

The Soyuz rocket had taken off at 14:40 local time (08:40 GMT) in Kazakhstan for a four-orbit, six-hour journey to the ISS.

Mr Hague and Mr Ovchinin were due to spend six months on the station working on a number of scientific experiments.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45822845

[bknight]

Spaceflight is still a risky business.  It is good to see emergency procedures and equipment worked and the crew is safe.

[Morgul]

Am I correct in that this is the first time an American astronaut has had an abort situation like this?   I know there have been launch pad aborts at the moment of ignition, and there have been Abort to Orbit situations, but I don't think an American astronaut has ever been involved in an abort situation like this.

I'm glad the system worked as expected, and they are both safe!

[Bryanpoprobson]

I believe that you are right on the abort situation.

I must make a comment on the video's from the event, long after the problem the "supposed" real time animation and graphics and data readout showed them still on a nominal track. It does question the use of these techniques to give the viewer an appreciation of what is happening. The telemetry and imagery did not have any relevance to what was actually happening. 

[bknight]

There was a point in the video where a cabin image was being displayed and there was some violent jarring in the cabin.  That was abnormal from all the previous launches I have watched.  It probably was the default caught in real time.

[Peter B]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-12/iss-commander-watched-on-as-russian-rocket-fell-back-to-earth/10368826

This article includes a couple of pictures taken from the ISS of the launch around the time of the emergency.

[smartcooky]

I wonder if there was some problem with booster detachment?

The way these Soyuz boosters work is that they are attached with something like a ball & socket joint at the top and a pyrotechnic attachment point at the bottom. When the pyros fire at the bottom, the booster is still thrusting so they pivot outward at the bottom THEN detach at the top. Next, a LOX vent at the top of the booster fires inwards towards the stack pushing the top of the booster away, but the booster continues to pivot inwards at the top, with the LOX venting preventing the top of the booster hitting the stack and then pushing the top outwards again.. If one of those LOX vents fails, the top of a booster could hit the stack.

ETA: See this Soyuz Launch to see what I'm saying

(If the time thing doesn't work, is about 2:15 into the video)

[molesworth]

Some interview material from Nick Hague about what the experience was like :

https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/16/17983682/nasa-astronaut-nick-hague-soyuz-rocket-launch-failure-experience

He makes it all sound very routine, but I'm sure, even with all the training, it was a bit of a scary moment... 

[smartcooky]

Yep, as predicted, it was a faulty booster seperation.