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Russian engineers locate short circuit problem on Soyuz

Russian engineers have now located the short circuit that scrubbed this week’s manned Soyuz launch to ISS.

The official added that there would be no need dismantling the space carrier to fix the detected problem “as we will replace certain parts and then conduct the required tests before the launch.” Solntsev also said that the required spare parts to fix the malfunction and specialists to carry out the repair works were already present at the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, where the spacecraft was scheduled to take off.

Though the repair will be quick to fix, they are still sticking with the November 1st launch date, probably because any earlier slot is now taken by Orbital ATK’s Antares/Cygnus launch.

Update: The wording of a new report today, one day later than the report above, describing the problem as “a burnt cable”, is intriguing. A short circuit implies that they sensed some of the circuitry was not reading correctly and that some wiring had to be inspected and either rerouted or given more insulation. A “burnt cable” however suggests the short circuit was far worse and almost turned into a fire.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


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"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

3 comments

  • PeterF

    This is good news, internationally and nationally. Internationally because the ISS reminds the entire world that there are benefits to international cooperation. Nationally for both the Russians and the U.S. because it keeps the ISS viable and reminds leaders in both countries that there are benefits to peaceful cooperation. (One of which is an alternate diplomatic channel.)
    It is good that the Russians have been squirming with the drop in oil prices. The pressure reminds them that socialism works great until you run out of other peoples money, but we don’t want them to become desperate and look to their military to supply them with wealth. The sale of seats on Soyuz reminds them that diverse capitalism can provide an alternate source of funds. Eventually, the old guard will die off and the leadership will not have fond memories of the “good old days” when the KGB kept things in control.

  • wayne

    Putin is KGB!

  • PeterF

    Wayne, yes Putin IS KGB. and like I said, “Eventually the old guard will die off.
    Luckily for humanity, God has provided us with a method where the population is cleansed on a regular basis without the need for other humans to intervene. Unfortunately it also operates without regard to an individual’s value to humanity.

    J.R.R. Tolkien imagined a world populated with some species that were virtually immortal. “Civilization” remained largely static for millennia and new paradigms could only be attempted following the violence of armed conflict and the chaos caused by the destruction of the preceding society without regard to its advance or regression.

    A nice fantasy to visit in book form. Not someplace where I would want to spend my brief time on earth.

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