An undocking error yesterday prevented the Soyuz capsule from leaving the International Space Station, forcing three crew members to remain an extra day in orbit, Russian space officials said.
“The commission has taken the decision to push back the date of the spacecraft’s return. The landing will not take place today,” an official at the Soyuz mission control center near Moscow was quoted by Interfax as saying.
“The return of the Soyuz is planned for Saturday [today], at an estimated landing time of 0900 Moscow time.”
It is the first time in a decade of Soyuz flights to the space station that the craft has failed to undock, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
US astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko had been due to land in the central Kazakh steppes yesterday morning, but the maneuver was first delayed by a few hours due to “small glitches,” before being cancelled, Russian space officials said earlier.
Russia’s space agency chief Anatoly Perminov said crew members had feared a problem with the air seal onboard the capsule due to a computer bug.
“The onboard computer system is picking up a false signal that there is no airlock on the station after the hatch is closed,” Perminov said.
“We have carried out checks on the air tightness. The airlock is confirmed on the ISS and the Soyuz, which is the most important for today.”
“We could have done it [the undocking] today but we need extra time to avoid further risks. There is no reason to rush. The most important thing is to guarantee the safety of the crew,” he said.
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