Russia to disassemble the next Soyuz rocket scheduled for launch
In order to make sure it was assembled correctly and will separate properly, Russian engineers plan to disassemble the four strap-on boosters of the next scheduled Soyuz rocket and then put it back together for its November launch.
I wonder however if they are studying this assembly process to figure out why the manned Soyuz rocket that failed on October 11 was assembled badly so that they can revise that process. It sounds like they are merely checking to make sure the rocket is put together right, without figuring out what went wrong.
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In order to make sure it was assembled correctly and will separate properly, Russian engineers plan to disassemble the four strap-on boosters of the next scheduled Soyuz rocket and then put it back together for its November launch.
I wonder however if they are studying this assembly process to figure out why the manned Soyuz rocket that failed on October 11 was assembled badly so that they can revise that process. It sounds like they are merely checking to make sure the rocket is put together right, without figuring out what went wrong.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
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You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
I didn’t even know the word existed:
dissemble
/dɪˈsɛmb(ə)l/
verb
conceal or disguise one’s true feelings or beliefs.
“an honest, sincere person with no need to dissemble”
synonyms: dissimulate, pretend, deceive, feign, act, masquerade, sham, fake, bluff, counterfeit, pose, posture, hide one’s feelings, be dishonest, put on a false front, lie; More
disguise or conceal (a feeling or intention).
“she smiled, dissembling her true emotion”
Andrew_W: Why must you be disagreeable and ugly? Most people, when they spot a typo on my part, graciously note it so I can correct. They do not write snark.
It’s called humor Mr. Zimmerman. People pointing out grammatical errors often comes across as nit-picking. Only you and a few of your devotees would interpret my attempt at not coming across as an overbearing nit-picker as “disagreeable and ugly”.
Andrew_W: No, it indicates that your attempt at humor did not work. Don’t quit your day job.
Robert wrote: “I wonder however if they are studying this assembly process to figure out why the manned Soyuz rocket that failed on October 11 was assembled badly so that they can revise that process. It sounds like they are merely checking to make sure the rocket is put together right, without figuring out what went wrong.”
I certainly hope that it is the former rather than the latter. My first reading of the article led me to believe that they were doing this “ in order to avoid launch failures similar to October 11 incident.” Failures, plural, as in future launches. However, re-reading the article, the rest of it only suggests that the inspection is an exercise intended to affect this one rocket assembly. I hope that it is a poorly written article that fails to clearly report on the objective of the exercise.
If they are doing their quality control program right then they are examining closely how the suspected problem could have occurred and determining how to change their procedures in order to prevent this — apparently repeated — problem in the future as well as how to inspect for damage, other problems, or correct installation after assembly.
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/russian-soyuz-rocket-launches-military-satellite/
What is far more important is to change a culture that allows for the possibility of a bent mounting lug or, as happened five years ago, the improper installation of sensors that were difficult to install in the incorrect orientation.
http://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/space-disasters/rocket-failure/roscosmos-official-proton-downed-due-upside-sensors/
In the 1980s, the US airline industry realized that at the rate of increase in the number of flights if the accident rate remained the same then there would be a headline each week reporting on an airline accident. That industry became very serious about accidents and safety and took great efforts to reduce human error, man-machine interface sources of error, and mechanical problems in order to make flying safe. It worked very well, because the number of accidents per year of US airlines has dropped dramatically, despite an increase in flights. It required changes in the cultures, thinking, and procedures in the cockpit, maintenance facilities, design and manufacturing companies, traffic control, and management, but it worked.
Lockheed Martin, about 15 years ago, dropped a satellite and became similarly serious about overall quality at all levels and in all areas, not just the assembly rooms.
The Russians need to make similar serious efforts to improve quality, reduce corruption, and adapt to the changing competition — the capitalism in space.
It is good that the Russians feel the need to polish up their skills at disassembling. Lord knows they’ve long since proven they have no need of further practice dissembling. At that, they are world-class.