MOSCOW. Oct 28 (Interfax-AVN) - A foreign object in the fuel- injection system of the rocket's first stage caused the accident of a Soyuz-U booster rocket with a Photon-M international satellite on board at Russia's Plesetsk cosmodrome on October 15, Director of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency Yuri Koptev told a press conference on Monday.
This was the only accident involving a Soyuz-series rocket, Koptev said. 1,650 launches and 6,000 bench tests of Soyuz-U rockets have been conducted, and all of them have been successful. The Russian interdepartmental commission has presented related juridical documents to the European Space Agency.
The European Space Agency confirmed its permission of another visiting expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). The French Space Agency is considering launches of Soyuz rockets from the Kourou cosmodrome.
"The interdepartmental state commission is considering all possible reasons for the accident, from a foreign object in the fuel-injection system of the first-stage engines to violations in the Soyuz launch preparation technique and malicious intent. All that is being considered by the interdepartmental commission," Koptev said.
The Space Troops launched the Soyuz-U rocket booster from a launch pad of the Plesetsk cosmodrome on October 15. The rocket exploded 29 seconds after the launch. A soldier died and several people were hurt in the abortive launch.