KOROLYOV, Moscow region. April 21(Interfax-AVN) - The landing capsule of the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft followed a ballistic trajectory during its descent on Saturday, Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) chief Anatoly Perminov told journalists.
"What counts most is that the crew is safe and sound. The landing passed normally, although it was a reserve way of landing. The spacecraft followed a ballistic trajectory during its descent," Perminov said.
Perminov therefore confirmed what sources at space mission control had earlier told Interfax, that the landing had apparently followed a ballistic trajectory.
"All signs, primarily the fact that [the landing capsule] did not reach the planned landing area, indicate that this was the second ballistic descent running," a mission control source said.
Unlike a regular descent, a ballistic trajectory is steeper, and the crew undergoes acceleration of up to 10g during it.
The crew did not report that the spacecraft was following a ballistic trajectory during the landing, Perminov said.
A delay in detecting the landing site was due to the fact that an aircraft belonging to the Federal Air Navigation Service did not report the site's coordinates immediately after spotting it, and so the space mission's command could not instruct rescue teams on board helicopters and land vehicles where to go to evacuate the crew for a long time, he said.
All the crewmembers are feeling well, Perminov said.
Anatoly Grigoryev, the head of the Medical and Biological Problems Research Institute, also said that the crew was feeling well and that three doctors were working at the scene.
Energia space rocket corporation President Vitaly Lopota said the crew felt "excellent" following the landing.
Lopota also said a ballistic descent is one of the three nominal landing options.
The reasons why the spacecraft landed along a ballistic trajectory will be established after the landing capsule has been delivered to the Energia corporation for analysis, he said.