The investigation into October 11^th catastrophic launch of a Soyuz MS-10 rocket, and which endangered two crew members travelling to the International Space Station, will wrap by the end of the month.

The launch was insured, which will impact rates with the insurance sector.

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, says the state commission had now completed its investigation although did not reveal it findings. Roscosmos says that the final report, and its recommendations as to how to avoid a repeat, will be published by October 30^th.

There are numerous, and well informed, comments suggesting that one of the four ‘bolt on’ boosters failed to properly separate from the main rocket booster. One Russian report says that the booster was not fitted correctly.

The dilemma for Arianespace, which uses a variant of the Soyuz rocket, is that launches are on temporary hold which the report identifies the problem. These restrictions could then be lifted.

Categories: Articles, DTH/Satellite