Roscosmos Requests Enhancement of Quality Control for Soyuz Rocket Engines

Soyuz-U launch vehicle carrying the Progress M12-M cargo vehicle during rolling out (Source: RSC Energia).

According to the Russian press agency Ria Novosti, the special commission investigating the causes of the August 24 failed launch of Russia’s Soyuz carrier rocket has recommended to enhance quality control of engine production for for Soyuz rockets. A third stage engine failure has caused the loss of Progress M12-M cargo vehicle, first loss of such vehicles in operational history; the spacecraft burned up reentering the atmosphere, and its fragments have been dispersed over the Altai region of Siberia. Roscosmos said that the most likely cause of the accident is a clogged fuel supply pipe: although the defect has been deemed accidental, the commission recommended introducing additional control procedure to prevent similar defects in the future.

The Soyuz rocket, which powers the Progres spacecraft, is also the only way for astronauts to reach the ISS: according to Ria-Novosti, NASA is paying Roscosmos more than $1 billion for crew transport services over the next four years.