The International Space Station (ISS) lost orientation in space while testing the engines of the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft (Yu. A. Gagarin) for 30 minutes, the incident did not pose a threat to the crew. This was announced by a representative of NASA, his words are conveyed by TASS…
From the statement of the representative of the US space agency it follows that at 05:02 am on the US East Coast (12:02 Moscow time) “the flight controllers from the Russian side carried out the planned test firing of the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft engines.” After the test window was closed, the operation of the engines unexpectedly resumed, which led to the loss of control over the orientation of the ISS.
thirty
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it took so much time to regain control over the orientation of the ISS
The fact that the station lost its orientation in space during testing of the Soyuz engines, on which the director Klim Shipenko and the actress Yulia Peresild are planning to return to Earth, became known on October 15.
“We received an emergency message from colleagues [из НАСА] – loss of orientation, ”cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov told the Mission Control Center (MCC). In response to this, the MCC said that they were testing the motion control system (CMS) of the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft.
The Houston Mission Control Center explained to the astronauts that the cause of the incident was related to incorrect ground procedures.
The Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (Roscosmos) reported that the International Space Station has restored its orientation in space.
It also follows from the message that the work of the station was adjusted in a short time by specialists of the Main Operational Control Group of the Russian Segment of the ISS. “The station and the crew are not in danger,” they assured Energia.
It is known that the work of the “movie crew” on the filming of the feature film “Challenge” in the American module of the ISS will continue despite the temporary loss of orientation. According to crew members, the incident will not interfere with the filming of the tape.
It is noted that according to agreements between Roscosmos and NASA, part of the filming of the film takes place in the observation module Cupola of the US segment of the ISS.
Earlier, Roskosmos reported that director Klim Shipenko and actress Yulia Peresild have already filmed most of the materials for the upcoming film. The ship’s crew also continues to actively prepare for the upcoming landing on October 17, 2021.
On October 5, Shipenko and Peresild went to the ISS to shoot the first-ever feature film shot in space. The tape received the working title “Challenge”. In the center of the plot of the space drama is a doctor (Peresild), due to circumstances forced to prepare for a space flight in a month in order to go to the International Space Station to save an astronaut.
The world’s first “cinema crew” was headed by cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. It is noted that he became the first ever commander of the Soyuz, piloted to the ISS alone without the help of a professional flight engineer. Shkaplerov will also play in The Challenge. 38-year-old Shipenko, who acts as a director, cameraman and one of the scriptwriters of the film, is known for such films as “Text”, “Salyut-7” and “Kholop”. Peresild, 37, is an Honored Artist of Russia, who has starred in the films The Bride, The Battle for Sevastopol and The Petrovs in the Flu.
The crew members underwent accelerated training for space flight. It took place at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Moscow Region.