The Soyuz-FG launch vehicle crash with the Soyuz MS-10 manned transport vehicle was caused by the abnormal separation of one of the first-stage side blocks, which was caused by the deformation of the sensor during the installation of the rocket at the Baikonur cosmodrome. The head of the emergency commission Oleg Skorobogatov announced this during a press conference held at the Mission Control Center of the Central Research Institute of Machinery.
According to him, the launch of the rocket on October 11 and all the stages of the flight before the separation of the first and second stages took place without comment, all the systems and components of the launch vehicle functioned normally until the 118th second.
“In the process of separating the side blocks from the central block“ A ”at the 118th second, the waste of the nose part of the block“ D ”from block“ A ”was recorded due to the non-opening of the jet nozzle cover of the oxidizer block of one of the side blocks (“ D ”). As a result, the “D” block with the supporting cone first slid along the opposite cone of the “A” block, and then it hit the fuel tank, which led to the opening and depressurization of the tank, and subsequently tearing off part of the “A” block with the tail section. Registered disturbances led to a loss of stabilization and the formation of a command for engine emergency shutdown at 121 seconds, ”follows the conclusion of the emergency commission, the results of which were reported by Skorobogatov.
The cause of abnormal separation of the first and second stages was the failure to open the lid of the nozzle cover of the oxidizer tank of the “D” block due to the deformation of the splitting contact sensor stem (bending to 6˚45 ') allowed when assembling the “bag” at the Baikonur cosmodrome.
- Non-staff separation unit "D"
- © Frame: YouTube video
Emergency rescue systems worked normally
At the same time, the head of the emergency commission noted that all the TPK Soyuz MS-10 systems, including the emergency rescue system, were functioning normally.
“The emergency rescue system of Soyuz MS-10 TPK worked in accordance with the established logic. The crew acted in accordance with the requirements of the on-board instructions and instructions of the Flight Control Center, ”Skorobogatov added.
It is noted that the cause of the accident is operational in nature and extends to the reserve of launch vehicles assembled in a “package”. There were two such missiles, one of which is located at the Baikonur cosmodrome to ensure the launch of the Progress transport cargo vehicle, and the other in French Guiana.
The emergency committee made a decision to disassemble these rockets, check the sensors and reassemble the “package” with additional monitoring, including photo and video documentation.
In addition, a set of measures was developed to exclude the possibility of a recurrence of an emergency situation and for the early resumption of launches of the Soyuz launch vehicle. The first launch of the Soyuz after the accident took place from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, and the next ones are scheduled for November 3 (Plesetsk), November 7 (Kuru cosmodrome) and November 16 (Baikonur).
During the launch scheduled for November 16, the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle should deliver the Progress MS-10 transport cargo ship to the International Space Station, and the launch of Soyuz MS-11 should take place on December 3
The main crew of the 58th long-term expedition to the ISS will include Russian Oleg Kononenko, Canadian David Saint-Jacques and American Ann McClain.
- The main crew of Soyuz-MS-11 - Anne McClain, Oleg Kononenko and David Saint-Jacques
- NASA
"The actions of the crew confirmed the correctness of the concept of training astronauts"
At the press conference held in Korolev, a number of heads of space industry enterprises also spoke. In particular, Dmitry Baranov, Director General of RCC Progress, said that because of the Soyuz accident, an enterprise producing these LVs would re-certify its employees.
“In addition, organizational and technical measures will be introduced. This is a re-certification of staff - although all the staff is quite experienced, - additional briefings, passing tests, ”said Baranov.
At the same time, the deputy head of Roscosmos, Alexander Lopatin, answering the question about the fate of people who damaged the sensor when assembling the work, said: "The relevant law enforcement agencies are engaged in these aspects, therefore, I would not like to address these issues at today's event."
In turn, the head of the Cosmonaut Training Center, Pavel Vlasov, stressed the importance of the fact that the emergency confirmed the correctness of the cosmonaut training method.
“It is very important for us that the actions of the crew in this situation confirmed the correctness of the chosen concept of training astronauts both from the point of view of acquiring theoretical knowledge, studying equipment and training conducted by the crew on board, and during actions in complex abnormal situations,” said Vlasov.
- Scheme of emergency launch October 11
- © Roscosmos
According to the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, another consequence of the accident on October 11 will be a change in the principle of rocket insurance. Until now, a significant part of the RN was insured directly before the launch, but now, in order to avoid a situation of negotiating time pressure, this will be done in advance - for the whole coming year.
In an interview with TASS, Rogozin also said that the last five Soyuz-FG missiles will be launched before the end of 2019. After that, the Russian space agency will switch to more modern Soyuz-2.1a missiles.
Note that since May 2001, 65 launches were made on the Soyuz-FG missiles, and only the last one was unsuccessful. Soyuzy-2.1a has been flying since 2006, out of 28 launches - three non-regular (in 2011, 2015 and 2016).
“In general, following the events of October 11, I instructed to work out the issue of double and triple redundancy of all critical operations, be it separation of stages, the inclusion of appropriate mechanisms, units during launch and operation of launch vehicles,” Rogozin noted.