Sensors Show The Spacecraft Hit The Ground Five Times

The Soyuz MS-10 escape capsule that executed a ballistic descent after a booster failure on launch earlier this month hit the ground five times before coming to a stop, according to Russian sources.

The website Space Daily relays a report from Sputnik that a source who requested anonymity said that "sensors of the reentry capsule registered that it suffered five hits during the landing. That is, the spacecraft hit the ground, bounced several times and rolled over."

Experts have studied the sensors that are incorporated into the seats of each crew member. The short-term overload reached more than 10 Gs, according to the source.

A separate source told Sputnik that the crew could not get out of the capsule when it came to a stop. Rescuers had to turn the spacecraft over using specialized equipment.

According to the news website BRG, Roscosmos said in a statement that the cause of the launch abort was likely a collision between the rocket's discarded first stage and the second stage of the booster.

“A deviation from the standard trajectory occurred and apparently the lower part of the second stage disintegrated. The rocket stopped its normal flight and after that the automatic system did its work,” Roscosmos Executive Director for Manned Flights, Sergei Krikalyov said in a statement. “This could have been caused by the failure of the system of the normal separation, which should have been activated. We will analyze the causes in detail.”

The investigation being conducted by Russia is still ongoing.

(Image provided by the Russian Defense Ministry)

FMI: Original Report, Original Report