{"id":45385,"date":"2021-08-06T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/what-went-wrong-local-propulsion-engineer-weighs-in-on-iss-tumble\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:24:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:24:52","slug":"what-went-wrong-local-propulsion-engineer-weighs-in-on-iss-tumble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/what-went-wrong-local-propulsion-engineer-weighs-in-on-iss-tumble\/","title":{"rendered":"What went wrong? Local propulsion engineer weighs in on ISS tumble"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"The
The Nauka module, also called the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, approaches the International Space Station on July 29. After docking, the Nauka inadvertently fired its thrusters, sending the ISS tumbling 1\u00bd times before ground controllers regained control. (NASA via AP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

So what happened when an uncrewed Russian spacecraft inadvertently fired its thrusters sending the International Space Station tumbling 1\u00bd times about 227 miles above the Earth?<\/p>\n

One Durango business, Agile Space Industries, a designer, tester and manufacturer of the thrusters used to steer spacecraft, is uniquely situated to comment on last week\u2019s ill-timed thruster firing.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoscosmos claimed it was a short-term software error, which is a funny way to describe it,\u201d said Lars Osborne, propulsion engineer lead for Agile Space Industries. \u201cBut my understanding is that the Nauka module got confused into thinking that it was trying to depart the International Space Station.\u201d<\/p>\n

Agile, founded in 2009, originally offered a test site for rocket engines in a remote area adjacent to Durango-La Plata County Airport. It expanded in 2018 to design, develop, test and manufacture small rocket engines, called attitude control thrusters, used to steer space vehicles.<\/p>\n

Agile was selected in December 2020 by Astrobotic Technology Inc., a Pittsburgh-based spacecraft and space robotics company, to build the 12 thrusters that will guide its Griffin Lunar Lander to the moon.<\/p>\n

Griffin Mission One is slated to carry the VIPER, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, to the South Pole of the moon in late 2023 in search of lunar water and ice.<\/p>\n

Thrusters on other modules attached to the ISS were successful in regaining orientation and stabilizing the station, but Osborne said that did not happen without costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, one of the immediate impacts was all the scientific research that was happening on the International Space Station had to come to a very abrupt halt,\u201d Osborne said. \u201cIt will take some time before they can be back into normal operations and resume scientific experiments.\u201d<\/p>\n

The inadvertent thruster fire from the Russian Nauka multipurpose vehicle also left the ISS in slightly different orbit, and Osborne said a new maneuver is planned in about two weeks to bring the space station back into correct orbit.<\/p>\n

\"This
This image made from NASA TV shows the International Space Station, seen from the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft April 24. Lars Osborne, propulsion engineer lead for Agile Space Industries of Durango, said an inadvertent firing of thrusters on a Russian space vehicle sent the ISS into a tumble that will be studied for years. (NASA via AP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A spacecraft emergency was declared, and Osborne said that required seven people aboard the ISS to prepare for possible evacuation.<\/p>\n

The ISS, Osborne said, also briefly went \u201cpower negative,\u201d meaning the solar panels were pointed in the wrong direction, and the ISS was draining its batteries.<\/p>\n

One final consequence of the ill-timed thruster firing was a delay of the launch of an uncrewed Boeing Starliner capsule to the ISS.<\/p>\n

Further problems have been detected with the Starliner propulsion-system, and a new date for launch has not been set.<\/p>\n

Osborne credited ground crews.<\/p>\n

\u201cGround controllers did a fantastic job. They were cool under pressure in recovering from this situation, but it was a challenging thing for them to do quickly, and to go from everyday routines to responding to an unusual and unique emergency situation.\u201d he said. \u201cThey had to fire up thrusters on another visiting spacecraft in order to try to regain control.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
A photo taken by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky of the Nauka module before docking with the International Space Station on July 29. The newly arrived Russian science lab knocked the International Space Station out of position when it accidentally fired its thrusters. For 47 minutes, the space station lost control of its orientation when the firing occurred a few hours after docking, pushing the orbiting complex from its normal configuration. (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service photo, via AP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Osborne said he doesn\u2019t have the detailed data to know exactly what happened, but his understanding is that Nauka\u2019s thrusters could not be turned off until the ISS was over Russia, where it could get a direct satellite radio link.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the situation was resolved when it ran out of rocket propellant,\u201d Osborne said.<\/p>\n

Russian officials have talked about delinking their modules from the ISS to form the initial components of their own space station.<\/p>\n

But the mishap now leaves the Russians without enough propellant to do that, he said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unlikely that an American spacecraft would have suffered from the same fault as the Nauka because American safety requirements and vehicle redundancies are higher.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Nauka module is seen before docking with the International Space Station on July 29. (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, via AP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWe do have rigorous rules and requirements for American vehicles that visit the International Space Station where those vehicles have to be three-fault tolerant to prevent just this kind of thing from happening,\u201d Osborne said.<\/p>\n

Operation of the ISS is guided by a treaty, and NASA does not control quality-control for Russian vehicles.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo there was no NASA oversight, because this was a Russian module,\u201d Osborne said.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI think there may be some political implications as well. We\u2019ll see. I don\u2019t think I could comment on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Osborne called the mishap a \u201csignificant event in spaceflight safety\u201d and said it will be studied for some years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure there are lessons to learn from it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Osborne said he\u2019ll be looking for more information about the ill-timed Nauka thruster firing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there is more public information available,\u201d he said, \u201cI will certainly read it to learn more about what happened and how the issue was handled.\u201d<\/p>\n

parmijo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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