Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
US-Russia space station crew delayed in orbit after glitch (now docked)
Last edited Fri Mar 28, 2014, 09:34 PM - Edit history (1)
A rocket carrying US and Russian astronauts to the International Space Station has had to delay docking for almost two days because of a glitch.
The craft was expected to dock with the station six hours after its launch from Kazakhstan early on Wednesday morning.
However, a 24-second engine thruster burn required to change its orbit path failed to work as planned.
The crew are not said to be in any danger. The joint mission comes amid high tension between the US and Russia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26746169
The craft was expected to dock with the station six hours after its launch from Kazakhstan early on Wednesday morning.
However, a 24-second engine thruster burn required to change its orbit path failed to work as planned.
The crew are not said to be in any danger. The joint mission comes amid high tension between the US and Russia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26746169
Update:
A Soyuz space capsule has successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS), delivering its Russian and American crew. The docking had been delayed by two days due to a technical mishap.
The Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft finally docked with the ISS on Thursday, two days after a maneuvering thruster had failed to kick into gear as planned, forcing the capsule to orbit the Earth until the next docking opportunity.
...
It's unclear what caused the thruster to fail. But the head of the Russian state rocket firm Energia, which supplies the Soyuz's thrusters, said that a mathematical miscalculation was probably responsible for the mishap.
"It could be mathematics, it could be a transmitter problem or that the engine choked," said Vitaly Lopota on Wednesday, according to the Interfax news agency. "But most likely it was a mathematical problem."
http://www.dw.de/soyuz-spacecraft-safely-delivers-russian-american-crew-to-iss/a-17526956
The Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft finally docked with the ISS on Thursday, two days after a maneuvering thruster had failed to kick into gear as planned, forcing the capsule to orbit the Earth until the next docking opportunity.
...
It's unclear what caused the thruster to fail. But the head of the Russian state rocket firm Energia, which supplies the Soyuz's thrusters, said that a mathematical miscalculation was probably responsible for the mishap.
"It could be mathematics, it could be a transmitter problem or that the engine choked," said Vitaly Lopota on Wednesday, according to the Interfax news agency. "But most likely it was a mathematical problem."
http://www.dw.de/soyuz-spacecraft-safely-delivers-russian-american-crew-to-iss/a-17526956