In a dramatic turn of events, today’s scheduled Soyuz rocket launch to the International Space Station was abruptly aborted just 21 seconds before liftoff. The cause? A dead battery in the chemical current source, which triggered an automatic abort sequence.
The planned mission, which included NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson among the three crew members, had to be put on hold as engineers worked to resolve the issue. The Soyuz MS-25 crew of Expedition 71, who were set to join the ongoing crew on the ISS, will now have to wait two more days before attempting another liftoff.
Thankfully, the crew inside the spacecraft was unharmed, and Roscosmos engineers quickly secured the vehicle. This incident marks a rare setback for the Russian space agency, following a similar in-flight abort back in 2018.
Meanwhile, in a bit of cosmic irony, an uncrewed SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo ship are preparing to launch fresh supplies to the ISS from Florida. The parallel missions serve as a reminder of the inherent risks and challenges of space travel, even as technology advances.
As space agencies around the world continue to push the boundaries of science and exploration, today’s aborted launch serves as a sobering reminder that even the best-laid plans can be derailed by the unpredictable nature of space travel.
