Anna Nemtsova - Russia’s Big Space Fail Exposes Putin Era’s Soviet Reflexes
Russian citizens learned the news about the accident from NASA and not from Roscosmos the state-corporation responsible for launches... Some of Russia’s most-read online publications, including Gazeta.ru and Moskovsky Komsomolets, pointed out that in the past, Soviet authorities kept the nation in the dark. “It seems Roscosmos is solemnly following the Soviet tradition of keeping secrets about technological accidents and catastrophes for as long as it’s possible,” Gazeta.ru said. “The USSR neither published news about accidents of space ships, nor about the Chernobyl catastrophe.”
MOSCOW – Just 119
seconds after the Soyuz rocket and capsule lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome
on Thursday, there was a serious malfunction. It aborted the flight at the
near-weightless edge of space, endangering the American astronaut and Russian
cosmonaut aboard. And coincidentally, perhaps, it stalled an investigation
into alleged
sabotage at their destination, the International Space Station. The Soyuz vehicles are
equipped for emergencies like this. The capsule immediately started dropping to
earth in what NASA officials called a “ballistic
reentry,” spinning like a bullet, the heat shield hitting temperatures of
about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, subjecting the men inside to about 7Gs, or
seven times the pull of gravity.
Within minutes they
were located and rescued. The American, Nick Hague, and the Russian, Alexey
Ovchinin, survived in good shape. But the event was a huge embarrassment to
Moscow on top of a
lot of other bad news for President Vladmir Putin. Over nearly two
decades, Kremlin officials have learned one lesson well: the boss hates
embarrassing failures in front of important foreign eyes. But the hundredth
anniversary of the aerospace company Energia will be remembered as a nightmare
in the history of Russian space. And also as a symbol of the Kremlin’s failing
management, over-blown self-confidence, and constant efforts to hide the truth
from its citizens.
To mark the jubilee,
important guests including NASA's administrator Jim Bridenstine and the head of
the Russian space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, arrived at Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Rogozin and Bridenstine had met in person for the first time earlier this
week. The anniversary program included the Soyuz rocket launch, a discussion of
potential cooperation on a lunar program and a friendly party. Preparing for
the meeting, Rogozin announced on Twitter that he would show the American
colleague his childhood album of Soviet and American airplanes.
Meanwhile, Roscosmos
flashed pictures of the crew members about to take off for the International
Space Station. American Nick Hague and Russian Alexey Ovchinin shook hands
under the word “Союз,” Soyuz, the Russian name of the rocket and space capsule,
which means “unity.” The anniversary, as we
know, did not proceed as planned. The escape at the edge of space and the
survival of the two men in good condition might have been interpreted as a
backhanded compliment to Russia’s technology, or at least to its safety
measures. read more:
