Russia to take off first manned mission to ISS on Dec 3

New Delhi : Russia space agency is planning to launch its first manned mission to the International Space Station on 3 December. The news has been confirmed by space agency Roscosmos.

The Russian rocket was scheduled to take off on October, but due to some unavoidable reasons, the crew members were forced to abort the mission. Sources confirmed that a Russian cosmonaut and US astronaut were forced to abort their mission on 11 October and perform an emergency landing after a launch accident that Roscomos said was caused by a faulty sensor.

Lifting off a carrier to space is a serious matter and any carelessness may result in serious outcome. The accident was the first serious launch problem experienced by a manned Soyuz space mission since 1983, when a crew narrowly escaped before a launch pad explosion.

Sergei Krikalyov, a senior Roscosmos official, was quoted by state news agency TASS as saying the next manned launch had been planned for mid-December. But, Russia was attempting to bring the date forward so that the ISS is not briefly left without a crew.

Therefore, it is likely that the three-person crew may return home Dec. 20

“The industry is making significant efforts to move the launch to Dec. 3 so that the station does not switch to autopilot mode, and landing is expected around Dec. 20,” he said.