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Unmanned Russian Soyuz Blows Up On Launch

Posted by timothy on from the what's-russian-for-nader dept.

adagioforstrings writes "CNN reports that a 300-tonne unmanned Soyuz-U launch vehicle exploded 29 seconds after take-off from Russia's Arctic Plesetsk cosmodrome late on Tuesday, its blazing debris showering onto the launchpad and its blastwave killing one and injuring eight others. A modified version of this same kind of rocket will be used to carry cosmonauts to the ISS later this month."

1 of 34 comments (clear)

  1. The R7 family still the most reliable booster by steve.m · · Score: 5, Informative

    As it says here, the R7 family is "..the most often used and most reliable launch vehicle in history".

    The unmanned versions are built to a lower spec, as the cargo isn't as important as human life. Manned soyuz boosters continue to be the safest way into orbit.