posted 08-09-2021 04:37 PM               

A space capsule with a hole in it. A rocket that failed 31 miles over Earth's surface. An orbital lab with misfiring thrusters.

That's the short list of the most dramatic mishaps involving the International Space Station in the last three years. The missteps have one thing in common: They all involve Russian spacecraft traveling to, or already attached to, the station — or station modules that recently arrived from Earth.

I am wondering what people here think about the latest mishap aboard the International Space Station when the thrusters from the newly attached Russian Nauka lab module ignited due to a reported software glitch causing the entire complex to rotate before the problem was resolved and attitude corrections made.

The article quotes someone from the US War College saying that Roscosmos has "a worse record than any other major space power. China landed a rover on Mars on its first try, while every Russian attempt to reach Mars since 1990 has failed."

posted 08-09-2021 05:23 PM               

During that time, Russia has successfully docked more spacecraft than any other country. Further, the thrusters on Russia's Zvezda service module and Progress spacecraft have been solely responsible for moving the space station out of the way of possible debris impacts — and counteracting the errant thrusters firings by Nauka.

In addition, the U.S. operating segment of the space station has not been without its share of problems, including the loss of life support systems, electrical shutdowns and leaks in the station's critical coolant system (though some of those may extend further back than three years).

posted 08-09-2021 06:23 PM               

As for the Soyuz MS-10 abort, a case could equally be made that the fact an abort occurred is a reason for concern (much like balancing Nauka's errant thruster firings with the fact that it was Russia's other thrusters that were responsible for bringing the space station back under control).