MOSCOW – Uncertainty clouded International Space Station operations yesterday after an unmanned Russian supply mission for six astronauts in orbit crashed, unnerving Nasa and others who rely entirely on Moscow to ferry crews.
Russia’s space agency has kept quiet on its plans and set up a commission to study the crash. But astronauts, experts and foreign space officials said missions should be grounded for the near future until a thorough investigation can help calm fears.
Coming on the heels of a series of costly botched launches, Wednesday’s loss of the unpiloted craft, which caught fire in the sky before plummeting to Siberia, was a major embarrassment for Russia’s industry and sparked a flurry of criticism at home.
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin ordered an overhaul of safety checks on Russia’s rockets; a leading pro-Kremlin member of parliament said the lower house would review whether “systemic problems or just bad luck” were to blame for the string of failures; while media reports put the cumulative recent losses at more than $553 million (€385 million).
The unpiloted Soyuz-U rocket, which fizzled out five minutes after blasting off from the Baikonur launch pad, closely resembles Russia’s Soyuz-FG model used to transport astronauts to the orbital station in the absence of a US shuttle.
Industry sources and foreign officials say the next space station crew launch will now be postponed from September 22nd. – (Reuters)