A Canadian astronautâs scheduled trip to the International Space Station is in limbo after the spacecraft he was to use failed and made an emergency landing in Kazakhstan.
A Soyuz booster rocket failed shortly after launching on Thursday, forcing two astronauts who were headed to the ISS to make an emergency landing instead. American Nick Hague and Russian Alexei Ovchinin were uninjured, Russian government officials said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the failure. Russia has launched an investigation and suspended all launches of manned spacecraft until the probe is complete.
David Saint-Jacques is scheduled to co-pilot the capsule Dec. 20 and become the first Canadian at the orbiter since now-retired astronaut Chris Hadfield returned to Earth in 2013.
Hadfield told ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ Channel that he considered it âvery unlikelyâ Saint-Jacquesâ launch would go on as scheduled given Thursdayâs failure.
âI really would be very surprised,â he said.
âIf itâs something simple and easily fixable, then they could get back to flight fairly quickly â but things with rockets are hardly ever simple and easily fixable.â
Even if the Soyuz spacecraft is cleared for launch before December, Hadfield said, it could end up carrying astronauts from Thursdayâs launch rather than the next scheduled crew.
âThey might be the ones that go, or it might be some mixture. They might need different skills now,â he said in a Periscope video.
The Canadian Space Agency that it did not know whether the failed launch would affect Saint-Jacquesâ launch date.
âHeâs supremely ready to go, and heâll go as soon as the rocketâs ready,â Hadfield said.
Three astronauts are currently living in the ISS. Hadfield said Thursdayâs developments meant they would know they are âin for the long haul.â The stationâs supplies of oxygen, food and other consumables would be enough to last the astronauts for years, Hadfield said.
While there is another Soyuz capsule docked at the station, Hadfield said using it to send the current crew home would not be under consideration.
âIf you abandon the space station, then thereâs no one there to fix things as they fail â and theyâll eventually have a serious problem,â he said.
Saint-Jacques spent time in a Soyuz capsule in August, as part of a disaster training simulation.
Hadfield noted that the launch failure should not be seen as an indictment of the Soyuz rockets, calling mechanical failure part and parcel of space travel. He said failsafe systems operated properly by detaching the astronautsâ capsule from the rocket and returning them to the ground.
âAll of the systems that were there in case of a rocket failure worked. Itâs not what you want to happen, but it happens,â he said. âIâd fly on the next Soyuz if they asked me to.â
Gov. Gen. Julie Payette, also a former astronaut, called Thursdayâs events âa tribute to well designed abort systems and perfectly executed emergency procedures.â
With files from The Canadian Press
Le Soyouz est transporté jusquâà la rampe de lancement. Lâéquipage principal ne peut être présent puisquâil parait que ça porte malchance. // The Soyuz is being rolled out to the launch pad. The prime crew canât be here because it could bring bad luck.
â David Saint-Jacques (@Astro_DavidS)
Photos: NASA
They are safe. Ils sont sains et saufs. A tribute to well designed abort systems and perfectly executed emergency procedures. Quel professionnalisme dans lâadversité.
â GGJuliePayette (@GGJuliePayette)
â Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield)