Soyuz Problems

As recently reported in this blog and elsewhere, the latest Soyuz flight returning crew from ISS missed its landing target by a wide margin. Now, a source in the Russian space agency is saying re-entry was in fact a close call for the people onboard.

According to reports, the propulsion module of the Soyuz did not separate from the crew module as it should; that extra mass helps explain why the craft landed short of its target. Further, the spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere improperly aligned; the area around the hatch took the direct heating instead of the heat shield, which was in any case still covered by the propulsion module.

In short, the flight could have ended tragically. Russia has already appointed a commission to investigate what went wrong. Soyuz, however, has been flying for decades, and has an extraordinary safety record, all things considered. The Russians clearly know the vehicle inside and out. There seems to be no reason to this mishap will turn out to be anything more than an isolated event.