Re:Astronauts escape malfunctioning Soyuz rocket
by Rebelgecko on Thursday October 11, 2018 @11:53AM
(#18194532)
I think their first indication that something was wrong was that they felt weightless at a time when they should've been experiencing 4g's. Apparently after the abort they still stayed under 7g
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Re:Astronauts escape malfunctioning Soyuz rocket
by rbanffy on Thursday October 11, 2018 @11:57AM
(#18194579)
Yes. It happened right after they ejected the escape rocket (which is probably terrifying to use), so they used the stage separation mechanism.
That's a much gentler experience, provided the booster doesn't explode.
Re:Astronauts escape malfunctioning Soyuz rocket
by mikejb on Thursday October 11, 2018 @12:24PM
(#18194832)
Jep, the escape system is definitely not a walk in the park. As far as I know, the Soyuz escape system is the only one that was deployed with people inside, in the Soyuz T-10a accident. Suffice to say, the cosmonauts didn't like it very much. They got between 14g-17g for 5 seconds, which removed them 4km downwards from the exploding launch vehicle.
After landing safely (and being badly bruised), they asked for cigarettes and were given shots of Vodka. [1]
[1] http://www.americaspace.com/2013/09/28/we-were-swearing-thir...