Russia’s space agency aborts launch of 3 astronauts to the International Space Station — all are safe

Russia aborted the launch of three astronauts to the International Space Station moments before they were scheduled to lift off Thursday, but the crew was safe, officials said.

The Russian Soyuz rocket was to carry NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Oleg Novitsky of Roscosmos and Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan.

The launch was aborted by an automatic safety system about 20 seconds before the scheduled liftoff at 1321 GMT. No cause was immediately given, but NASA said the crew was safe and would be extracted quickly from their Soyuz capsule.

Roscosmos hasn’t immediately said when the next launch attempt will be made.

The space station, which has served as a symbol of post-Cold War international cooperation, is now one of the last remaining areas of Read more…

Please follow and like us: