Booster collision blamed for Soyuz MS-10 failure

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Booster collision blamed for Soyuz MS-10 failure

It’s been more than two weeks since then in-flight abort of the Soyuz MS-10 mission with Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin and NASA astronaut Nick Hague. Now the pieces of the mishap puzzle are starting to trickle in.

On Oct. 11, 2018, Ovchinin and Hague were strapped into their Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft atop a Soyuz-FG rocket in Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, for a planned six-month stay at the International Space Station. It was to be Ovchinin’s second spaceflight and Hague’s first.

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Soyuz MS-10 fails to reach orbit, crew safe

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Soyuz MS-10 fails to reach orbit, crew safe

For the first time in International Space Station history, a crew has failed to reach orbit. The spacecraft's escape tower safely pulled Soyuz MS-10 with its two-person crew away from the failed booster.

Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin and NASA astronaut Nick Hague lifted off atop a Soyuz-FG rocket at 2:40 p.m. local time (4:40 a.m. EDT / 8:40 GMT) Oct. 11, 2018. Around the time of the separation of the four strap-on boosters was when the issue occurred.

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Soyuz MS-09 on its way to ISS after textbook launch

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Soyuz MS-09 on its way to ISS after textbook launch

Three space flyers are on their way to the International Space Station after launching to orbit inside their Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft atop a Soyuz-FG rocket. Liftoff took place at 4:12 p.m. local time (7:12 a.m. EDT / 11:12 GMT) June 6, 2018.

Flying to space to be part of the space station’s in-progress Expedition 56 is Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev, NASA astronaut Serena Aunon-Chancellor and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst.

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SpaceX CRS-14 Dragon heading toward ISS after successful Falcon 9 launch

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SpaceX CRS-14 Dragon heading toward ISS after successful Falcon 9 launch

SpaceX launched its sixth Falcon 9 of 2018, this time to send the unpiloted CRS-14 Dragon cargo ship on its way toward the International Space Station with several thousand pounds of food, experiments and hardware for the six-person Expedition 55 crew.

Liftoff took place at 4:30 p.m. EDT (20:30 GMT) April 2, 2018, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.

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Soyuz MS-08 trio lights up Kazakh sky to begin 2-day trek to ISS

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Soyuz MS-08 trio lights up Kazakh sky to begin 2-day trek to ISS

Lighting up the Kazakh Steppe at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, three fresh International Space Station crew members launched toward space to begin a two-day chase of the orbiting outpost. Soyuz MS-08 launched at 1:44 p.m. EDT (17:44 GMT) March 21, 2018.

Riding a Soyuz-FG rocket, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev and NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel achieved orbit in just under nine minutes to begin a two-day, 34-orbit rendezvous profile to catch up to the ISS.

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Progress MS-08 cargo ship launches on 2-day trek to ISS

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Progress MS-08 cargo ship launches on 2-day trek to ISS

After a two-day launch delay, Progress MS-08, an autonomous Russian cargo spacecraft, is on its way to the International Space Station.

Liftoff took place atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket occurred at 3:13 a.m. EST (08:13 GMT) Feb. 13, 2018, from launch pad 31 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft is carrying some 1,390 kilograms of dry cargo, 890 kilograms fuel, and 420 kilograms of water, as well as 46 kilograms of oxygen to the outpost.

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Launch of Progress MS-08 cargo spacecraft scrubbed

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Launch of Progress MS-08 cargo spacecraft scrubbed

It was deja vu for the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos. Less than a minute before its planned launch to the International Space Station, the Progress MS-08 cargo mission was scrubbed. The issue appeared similar in nature to one that occurred in October 2017.

Launch atop a Soyuz 2.1a booster was to have taken place at 3:58 a.m. EST (08:58 GMT) Feb. 11, 2018, from launch pad 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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Next ISS crew rockets to space atop Soyuz rocket

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Next ISS crew rockets to space atop Soyuz rocket

Launching atop a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, three people are heading toward the International Space Station. The trio will arrive at the $100 billion complex in just under six hours.

NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba, along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, launched inside their Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft atop a Soyuz-FG rocket.

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Final new first-generation Dragon launches toward ISS

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Final new first-generation Dragon launches toward ISS

SpaceX sent its final new first-generation Dragon capsule into space Aug 14, 2017. Launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket, the CRS-12 Dragon cargo ship was sent on its way toward the International Space Station.

The spacecraft is loaded with over 2,900 kilograms of equipment, science experiments and food to the orbiting laboratory. It will spend 36 hours fine-tuning its orbit before rendezvousing to and berthing with the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module.

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Falcon 9 engines ignite briefly in hotfire test days before CRS-11 mission

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Falcon 9 engines ignite briefly in hotfire test days before CRS-11 mission

Just a day before Memorial Day, SpaceX performed its customary static fire test on a Falcon 9 slated to send the CRS-11 Dragon capsule to the International Space Station. The test took place at noon EDT (16:00 GMT), May 28, 2017, at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. The several-second ignition, as well as the following planned abort, was soon confirmed by SpaceX via its Twitter account.

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