The crew has been busy
This week in space has been one for the record books. The future of the ISS is uncertain after this weeks events. In this post I will go through the events that unfolded on October 11th and speak to how some things could unfold for the future of the ISS.
1. Launch Day
The launch took place in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. After the US stopped the space shuttle program we have been buying seats on the Russian Soyuz rockets. The launch happened early (3:30 am Eastern Time coverage began) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Here is the live coverage before and during the launch. The launch begins around the 4:05 minute mark for those who don't have the patients to watch all of it.
2. Launch Ascent aborted
So after watching the launch (or not watching it) you are probably confused about what just happened. 2:00 minutes into the launch the soyuz began emergency abort protocols because of a failed booster during the launch.
Jim Bridenstine, a NASA administrator, released the following statement about the aborted launch.
The European Space Agency stated their intent to help Roscosmos in what ever way is necessary to help understand and find out answers about what happened during the launch.
3. THE LAUNCH, ABORT, AND RECOVERY
After the abort it took 34 mins for the crew to return and crews to find them after they landed in Kazakhstan at a usual recovery site. The abort and descent protocols went as textbook as they could have for the crews, if any factors changed things could have been drastically different.
Here is a a recap of the launch abort and recovery. 4. ISS Status Breifing
NASA held a press conference to update us on the status of the ISS and respond to the abort and recovery. Now 90% of this 40 min press conference is confusing science jibberish but there are some really important things to take away from it.
What happens next...
Here are some questions that have been asked over the last few days and during the press conference that have been answered. These are all speculation as nothing can be determined until the investigation is complete.
For now this is all just speculation at this point, we really don't know what is going to happen but NASA, Roscosmos, and ESA are working to get everything sorted out as quickly and safely as possible. 5. The crew
Now that I have overwhelmed your brains with too much space information, here is the crews reactions to what happened last Thursday. Nick Hague is happy to be back on earth safely as well as Alexey Ovchinin. Commander Gerst is keeping a positive spirit and thankful for everyones safety but the science must continue on.
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