It was a huge moment of shock: After a Russian module docked on the ISS, an event occurred that set the entire space station in motion. Soon after, Russia clarified everything.
MOSCOW (DPA) – After a breakdown at the International Space Station ISS, experts continue the commissioning of the new space laboratory “Yacht” (Science).
According to the Interfax agency, Vladimir Solovyov, flight director of the Russian part of the ISS, said that all ISS systems, including the “yacht”, were working normally again. Astronauts should open the hatch for the new Russian module and enter it on Friday.
Soloviev named a brief software malfunction as the cause of the unplanned activation of the ferry engines during the night. As a result, the entire ISS was in great motion. The US space agency NASA lost control of the station’s position in space for about an hour. As a result, contact with the crew was also lost for eleven minutes. Emergency response solved the problem.
According to the media, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, did not rule out a “human factor” in the breakdown. After much enthusiasm, he made everything clear that night: “All is well on the ISS,” he wrote on the short message service Twitter. « The astronauts are resting. I recommend it to you too.” According to Roscosmos, specialists from the Flight Control Center were working on the engines of the new module to ensure the safety of the ISS and crew.
“It was a very difficult and important victory for us!” Rogozin wrote in response to the American congratulations on the successful docking of the module, which had been on the road for eight days.
The laboratory was launched on July 21 from the Russian Spaceport Baikonur in Kazakhstan in Central Asia and was scheduled for Thursday at 3:29 a.m. CEST at Mankind’s outpost. Roskosmos boss Rogozin announced the launch of another module for November 24th, which will improve docking of future spacecraft.
As a multi-purpose module, «Yacht» is primarily intended for research. But it should also function as a team quarter with its own life support system. There is also a toilet on board. It measures 13 by 4.11 meters and weighs over 20 tons. Indeed, the “yacht” was supposed to be brought into space only in early 2007. The delay was due to problems. The last module was sent by Russia to humanity’s outpost eleven years ago.
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