Astronauts Unharmed as Soyuz Launch Aborted Moments Before Liftoff
Following an unexpected event, three astronauts remain unharmed as their planned journey to the International Space Station was halted just moments before liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The incident unfolded during a live NASA broadcast, ensuring the crew's safety.
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Three crew members were kept safe after their planned launch to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was automatically aborted on Thursday morning, as reported in a live NASA broadcast.
NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya from Belarus were all set to blast off on a Roscosmos Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft at 9:21 a.m. ET. They were expected to reach the space station approximately three hours later.
However, just 20 seconds before the scheduled launch time, an automatic abort was triggered. This happened because the second of two umbilicals, or service towers, attached to the side of the Soyuz rocket, failed to start the engine sequence.
“We do not know the reason why at this point,” according to a NASA broadcast of the launch.
The Soyuz rocket is seen shortly after rolling out to the launchpad on March 18 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz rocket is seen shortly after rolling out to the launchpad on March 18 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Bill Ingalls/NASA
Mission control quickly informed the crew that they would not be able to launch to the space station due to the issue. All fueling operations were stopped and safety measures were put in place to keep the crew safe.
The crew's next chance to launch is on Saturday morning, but this will depend on whether engineers can figure out what caused the automatic abort and if they can fix it in time.
It is currently unclear if the abort will affect the upcoming cargo resupply mission set to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 4:55 p.m. ET and dock at the space station on Saturday morning. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will be carrying new science experiments, food, supplies, and equipment on this mission.
During the live broadcast of the Soyuz launch attempt, service towers were being raised next to the rocket and crew capsule. This was to allow engineers to safely extract the crew and bring them back to their living quarters.
When the launch is rescheduled, Dyson, Novitskiy, and Vasilevskaya will join NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin, who are already aboard the space station.
Editor's P/S:
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