Image: NASA
The failure of a Soyuz-FG launch vehicle on Oct. 11 was caused by abnormal separation of one of the rocket's boosters, according to Russian space agency Roscosmos. The committee investigating the incident says the malfunctioning booster hit the vehicle's core stage in the fuel tank area, resulting in its decompression and a loss of attitude control. The MS-10 space capsule carrying American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin separated from the launch vehicle and entered a ballistic trajectory, allowing it to land safely roughly 200 miles east of the launch point. Both crew members were uninjured.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/recent-updates/business-military/abnormal-booster-separation-at-fault-for-soyuz-launch-failure