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Russian Cargo Mission To ISS Spinning Out of Control
quippe writes: Many sources report that a Russian spacecraft, launched successfully (video) from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan earlier Tuesday, is in big trouble now after having a glitch shortly after liftoff. There is a video on YouTube (credit: NASA) of the space ship spinning out of control. Recovery attempts haven't gone well so far, but they will continue. If they can't regain control, the ship will likely burn up when it falls back into the atmosphere. Current speculation points to greater-than-expected lift by the third-stage, because the apogee is 20km higher than planned. The ship does not seem to pose a threat to the ISS at the moment.
Did someone on the ISS order scrambled eggs on the supply boat?
Silence is a state of mime.
NASA ISS Team: Due to budget cuts we're having the janitor request more supplies from Russia this year for the ISS. And remember, use both sides of the toilet paper.
FKA Scientist We've got the request from NASA....
FKA Director Whats it say?
FKA Scientist: "Kindly Spin the cargo baskets, it is to launch when inside to space, of the 20 long lengths for happy triple mode, and iside the burn of the roundness. Glory."
FKA Director: Can we....can we even do that?
FKA Scientist:Sir maybe their translator isnt very knowledgeable?
FKA Director: Nyet Sergei, this is America we're talking about. Two government shutdowns, riots every week and two failed wars...Its entirely possible this is exactly what they want...Just look at Florida.
Good people go to bed earlier.
They need to get some politicians involved. They're good at spin control.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
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Dragon won't make it in time to deliver patriotic artifacts for Russian crew to celebrate victory of Russia in the second world war.
False. Solar Panels did deploy - that's about the last bit that is certain. Shortly after that there was a problem deploying KURS docking system antennas (not all deployed) and soon after the ship ended up tumbling.
44 pieces of debris has been detected near Progress and 3rd stage.
Current guesses include
- Collision with 3rd stage of the rocket, resulting in debris
- Explosion in the propulsion system of Progress, resulting in debris
Seems like Russians have given up (no response to commands over multiple attempts) and it will burn up sometime after May 7th.
(1) spinning is caused by force
(2) more force, unless purely rotational = higher speed
(3) higher speed = higher orbit
(4) 20km higher orbit is not much -- consistent with a small engine (like a thruster) causing it
So, (5) keep guessing what the problem is
My guess: a thruster stuck open...
I come here for the love
If you look at the ratio of serious accidents on the Soyuz compared to the shuttle, it's actually higher. Soyuz has gotten very lucky several times in nearly killing its occupants, and had several complete would-have-been-deadly failures in modern times on unmanned launches.
Just looking at crewed vehicles, here's some of the more significant Soyuz accidents since 1971:
18a (1975): second stage separation failed, the craft accelerated toward earth, the crew hit over 21g on abort, rolled down a hill, and stopped just short of a cliff. Serious injuries.
23 (1976): Landed off target, broke through a frozen lake, and sank to the bottom; with great difficulty, the crew was ultimately rescued in time.
33 (1979): Engine failure in orbit; the mission had to be aborted but the craft was thankfully low enough to achieve reentry in a reasonable length of time.
T-10-1 (1983): Rocket engulfed in flames on the launch pad. The emergency escape system was activated just two seconds before the craft exploded.
Expedition 6 (2003): Malfunction during reentry, causing the craft to reenter too hard and way off target. Landed on its side and left one of the crew with a broken shoulder.
(2008): Separation failure on reentry, causing incorrect reentry orientation for part of aerobraking and a rough landing; another crew member injured. Russia responded by blaming the problem on a superstition that having more women than men in a spaceship at any given time is unlucky and banning the practice for all future missions, and no, I'm not kidding though I wish I was.
It's not even accurate to say that the last fatality from a Soyuz was in 1971, in that a Soyuz-U launch in 2002 failed 29 seconds after launch, fell back on its pad and exploded, killing a man on the ground.
Soyuz's "spotless safety record for decades" is anything but. They've gotten really lucky, many times. And now Russia has made bug cutbacks in their space program due to the current economic climate, yet still wants to pursue grandiose programs like their own space station and even moon base. What do you think the result will be?
"...but Republicans plan to come back with a new plan, where they just slash the tires on all the ambulances."