Russia delayed two flights to bring people to space

The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) decided to delay the launch of two ships to send astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for several weeks due to technical problems of the Soyuz spacecraft.

>>>Progress departed ISS spacecraft

Russian experts inspect a Soyuz ship. (Photo: energia.ru)

The Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed source in the Russian space industry as saying that Soyuz TMA-04M failed to pass the tests in the high-pressure chamber, a mandatory procedure before it was released. astronauts go to ISS on March 30. That flight may be delayed until mid-April or even May.

"Currently the Soyuz TMA-04M cannot take people to space , " the source said.

As planned, Soyuz TMA-04M will carry out another flight on May 30. As a result of the delay of the first flight, the second launch time will also be in the middle or the end of June. The working time of the travelers working on ISS will be extended.

"Their working time is too short. So it is easy to extend the term , " the source commented.

Russia is the only country able to send people to ISS after US shuttles "retired" in 2010. However, a series of incidents have occurred with Russian launches recently.