Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and NASA astronaut Nick Hague will be soon sent to Moscow on a special flight. Manned launches have been stopped until the details of the accident during the Soyuz launch have been investigated. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov.
Yury Borisov, Deputy Prime Minister: The state committee doesn't meet in such situations. We have a state committee on manned launches headed by Director General of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin. He will appoint an ad hoc committee which will investigate the causes of the accident. Thank God, the crew is alive. The details, I don't know if they are known, I have just returned from the government myself.
At the 123-second mark of the flight, the emergency detachment system was triggered, it worked properly, and deployed the parachutes. The capsule detached from the rocket, and the crew successfully landed. According to the preliminary data, according to the seconds of flight, there seems to be a problem with the separation of the first or second stage. The ad hoc committee will investigate the details and present a report.
Of course, in such a situation, launches are stopped until an investigation is carried out.
— Manned launches?
Yes, manned launches, in order to provide safety. The situation is unpleasant but, as you know, there have been such accidents in the history of astronautics. On the other hand, the effectiveness of the emergency detachment system has been proved, which is very important.
— Yury Ivanovich, the head of NASA was present today at Baikonur. Do you think this accident will affect the partnership with the USA?
Yury Borisov: You see, it's hard to comment on that. You see, there have been many accidents, even tragic ones, both in the history of the American astronautics and in our history too.
— It is a high-tech industry, a risky one. That's why our cosmonauts are highly awarded for their flights. People put their lives at risk. I think that the Americans will understand the situation. Of course, we will not hide the details and reasons. It would be improper because, as you know, it's Russia that provides the sole delivery of crews to the ISS. Of course, they must know the reasons for the accident and we will give all the information to them.
— Did the prime minister give any orders after the report was received? Any orders? In such a situation everything is put under special control. I, as the curator of this industry branch, will report everything to the leaders about all the details and the course of the committee's investigation.
— Yury Ivanovich, I can't help but ask, everyone has this question: will there be any personnel decisions made, for example, against Roscosmos?
— You know, one should determine a cause first. If it has something that, let's say... if there was someone specifically responsible for the accident, then personnel decisions will be made. It's a standard situation.
