Soyuz lands on target
Posted: Fri, Oct 24, 2008, 8:25 AM ET (1225 GMT)
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russian cosmonauts and an American commercial passenger landed safely in Kazakhstan early Friday, avoiding reentry problems that plagued two previous missions. The Soyuz TMA-12 capsule landed on target northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, at 11:37 pm EDT Thursday (0337 GMT Friday). The three men in the capsule, Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononeko and American space tourist Richard Garriott, were all reported to be in good health after landing. Officials said the Soyuz had a normal reentry profile, and the landing was in the targeted zone. Two previous Soyuz spacecraft had suffered ballistic reentries, generating higher g-loads for the crews and causing the capsules to land several hundred kilometers off-target. That problem was linked to a problem with an explosive bolt that prevented the reentry capsule from cleanly separating from its propulsion module. The problem has been fixed on later Soyuz flights, and Volkov and Kononeko performed a spacewalk in July to remove the problematic bolt from their spacecraft.
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russian cosmonauts and an American commercial passenger landed safely in Kazakhstan early Friday, avoiding reentry problems that plagued two previous missions. The Soyuz TMA-12 capsule landed on target northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, at 11:37 pm EDT Thursday (0337 GMT Friday). The three men in the capsule, Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononeko and American space tourist Richard Garriott, were all reported to be in good health after landing. Officials said the Soyuz had a normal reentry profile, and the landing was in the targeted zone. Two previous Soyuz spacecraft had suffered ballistic reentries, generating higher g-loads for the crews and causing the capsules to land several hundred kilometers off-target. That problem was linked to a problem with an explosive bolt that prevented the reentry capsule from cleanly separating from its propulsion module. The problem has been fixed on later Soyuz flights, and Volkov and Kononeko performed a spacewalk in July to remove the problematic bolt from their spacecraft.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
SpaceX sets Nov. 18 launch date for sixth Starship test flight
Posted: Sat, Nov 9 9:57 AM ET (1457 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, November 23
DirecTV Abandons Deal to Acquire Dish Amid Bondholder Opposition
Hollywood Reporter — 2:16 am ET (0716 GMT) DirecTV Ditches Dish Deal
Variety — 2:16 am ET (0716 GMT) DirecTV calling off Dish Network takeover after bondholders balk
Los Angeles Times — 2:15 am ET (0715 GMT) DirecTV terminates Dish deal over failed debt swap
Reuters — 2:14 am ET (0714 GMT) DirecTV announces termination of deal to buy Dish satellite business
Ars Technica — 2:13 am ET (0713 GMT) |
