# Soyuz MS-10 failure, crew safe. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 11, 2018, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799 "2018-10-11T10:43:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/1 "2018-10-11T10:43:37Z")
Today’s Soyuz MS-10, with one American and one Russian cosmonaut suffered a booster failure and the spacecraft returned to the [ground on a ballistic trajectory.](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/10/soyuz-reduced-2-crew-launch-station/) If the spacecraft reached above the Karmen line then its the first American sub-orbital flight since the 60’s. No idea if the escape tower was used. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/2 "2018-10-11T12:17:36Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > No idea if the escape tower was used. According to [this,](http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-101118a-soyuz-ms10-launch-station.html) no (I think): > [@collectspace](#): > > The anomaly was reported shortly after the booster’s first stage had separated and the rocket’s escape tower had been jettisoned when the Soyuz was about 28 miles (45 kilometers) in altitude. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/3 "2018-10-11T13:19:44Z")
I just watched a vid of the launch and the escape tower definitely, per person announcing and visually on video, ejected just prior to the failure sequence. Saw somewhere that the astronauts probably experienced around 20G’s off/on due to the altered/steep entry. Damn! It’s why they train so hard 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/4 "2018-10-11T15:49:49Z")
When they landed, their first priority was to change their space pants… ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/5 "2018-10-11T16:05:43Z")
Russian [video of the recovery.](https://www.vesti.ru/videos/show/vid/772136#/video/https%3A%2F%2Fplayer.vgtrk.com%2Fiframe%2Fvideo%2Fid%2F1831743%2Fstart_zoom%2Ftrue%2FshowZoomBtn%2Ffalse%2Fsid%2Fvesti%2FisPlay%2Ftrue%2F%3Facc_video_id%3D772136) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/6 "2018-10-11T16:15:25Z")
A close call! No astronaut has died since Columbia disintegrated in 2003. Let’s keep the streak going! ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/7 "2018-10-11T17:16:32Z")
> [@Ionizer](#): > > I just watched a vid of the launch and the escape tower definitely, per person announcing and visually on video, ejected just prior to the failure sequence. Link? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/8 "2018-10-11T17:19:39Z")
> [@Ionizer](#): > > I just watched a vid of the launch and the escape tower definitely, per person announcing and visually on video, ejected just prior to the failure sequence. > > Saw somewhere that the astronauts probably experienced around 20G’s off/on due to the altered/steep entry. Damn! It’s why they train so hard 🙂 That’s a lot of Gs. Is that more than astronauts normally experience? I wonder if they were injured. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/9 "2018-10-11T17:29:19Z")
> [@gregorio](#): > > Link? There are many copies of the same footage on Youtube. On [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0l5QBmqQoI) the “escape tower separation” is at 3:49. Looks to me like there’s more than just the escape tower falling off of the rocket, but I don’t know how it normally looks. Video switches to CGI shortly after, and it’s disconcerting/amusing to see the CGI rocket continue normally even as the voices in the background announce “failure of the booster.” ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/10 "2018-10-11T17:35:07Z")
Nobody died, so time for a laugh. This event makes me think of [XKCD’s “US Space Team’s Up Goer Five” poster](https://xkcd.com/1133/), specifically the note on the main engines: > [@XKCD](#): > > THIS END SHOULD POINT TOWARD THE GROUND IF YOU WANT TO GO TO SPACE. IF IT STARTS POINTING TOWARD SPACE YOU ARE HAVING A BAD PROBLEM AND WILL NOT GO TO SPACE TODAY. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/11 "2018-10-11T18:04:08Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > That’s a lot of Gs. Is that more than astronauts normally experience? I wonder if they were injured. Yes quite a lot more. But not for very long durations. IIRC a Soyuz reentering from orbit under normal aerodynamic reentry profile peaks at 5g, if there’s a problem with that it will go ballistic and a “normal” ballistic entry peaks between 8 and 10 g. Aborts involve extremely violent maneuvers and then you don’t get the luxury of a long arc trajectory. You want to get the hell away from the big explodey thing then you want to get down quickly. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/12 "2018-10-11T18:20:26Z")
9-10 g are something the latest modern high-performance fighter jets pull. Both crewmen came from fighters, so I suspect the g forces were unpleasent due to being unwelcome but nothing either have not endured before. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/13 "2018-10-11T18:45:14Z")
I bet those brown stains will be on the upholstery for a long time. 😉 I know that would have scared the crap out of me. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/14 "2018-10-11T19:26:54Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I bet those brown stains will be on the upholstery for a long time. 😉 > > I know that would have scared the crap out of me. Soyuz capsules are discarded after one use anyways, right? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/15 "2018-10-11T19:36:14Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Soyuz capsules are discarded after one use anyways, right? I would guess that they cannabilise them for parts. Seats seem like something they might reuse. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/16 "2018-10-11T19:40:50Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > 9-10 g are something the latest modern high-performance fighter jets pull. Both crewmen came from fighters, so I suspect the g forces were unpleasent due to being unwelcome but nothing either have not endured before. [They are positioned pretty much on their backs in the capsule,](https://www.google.com/search?biw=1276&bih=828&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=Eqe_W5aZEufm_QaGzb_ICQ&q=soyuz+seat&oq=soyuz+seat&gs_l=img.3..0j0i24l2.11201.12737..12957...1.0..0.161.1070.0j7......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i7i30.WwtIa3ui48c) so their G tolerance is likely much higher than in a conventional fighter aircraft in which they are seated pretty much upright (ISTR the F-16 seat leans the pilot back about 30 degrees to reduce their total vertical height). ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/17 "2018-10-11T19:43:27Z")
[Popular Mechanics article](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a23721153/astronauts-ballistic-mode-emergency-landing/) says: "For example, during the 2008 ballistic reentry of Soyuz TMA-1, astronauts endured an 8G gravity load as opposed to the 6Gs they experience during a controlled re-entry. The trip sent South Korean astronaut Yi So-yeon to the hospital with injuries to her neck muscles and a bruised spinal column. “Today’s descent doesn’t seem to have been as violent as the 2008 incidents. According to a discussion between mission control and the space station, the astronauts experienced between 6 and 7Gs.” ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/18 "2018-10-11T19:43:38Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I would guess that they cannabilise them for parts. Seats seem like something they might reuse. The Soyuz T-10-1 capsule was used again on Soyuz T-15. ---
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/19 "2018-10-11T19:51:52Z")
A mysterious hole in a Russian ferry craft just recently and now the 1st ever Soyuz launch fail. Hmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799/20 "2018-10-11T19:58:51Z")
> [@BeenJammin](#): > > A mysterious hole in a Russian ferry craft just recently and now the 1st ever Soyuz launch fail. > > Hmmmm… Well, first failure of the Soyuz _spacecraft_ since [1983](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_7K-ST_No._16L). But the same series of Soyuz rockets are used to launch the Progress unmanned supply spacecraft (essentially an unmanned version of the Soyuz spacecraft), and there were Progress mission failures in [2011](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progress_M-12M), [2015](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progress_M-27M) and [2016](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progress_MS-04). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soyuz-ms-10-failure-crew-safe/822799.md?page=2)