The Soyuz spacecraft failed to assemble with the ISS

According to Russian and American space agencies, the Soyuz spacecraft did not successfully assemble with the International Space Station (ISS) on the morning of March 26 as planned.

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This is an unprecedented delay in the assembly process with ISS, supposedly due to a minor technical problem.

The Soyuz spacecraft carries two Russian astronauts, Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev and the astronaut Steve Swanson of the US National Aeronautics Agency (NASA).

The Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said the Soyuz vessel left Russia's Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan on March 25.

According to the plan, Soyuz must assemble with ISS at 03:04 (GMT), which is about 10 am on March 26 (Vietnam time), after a 6-hour journey.

The Soyuz leaves the Russian launch of Baikonur in Kazakhstan from March 25.(Source: itar-tass.com)

However, the assembly time is now delayed until 6:58 pm on March 27, because the problem seems to occur in the ship's navigation system.

In a statement on its Web site, NASA said Soyuz was unable to complete the third propulsion combustion to reach the ISS, forcing the ship to enter a support compartment on the ISS.

Russian experts are reviewing the data to determine the cause of the third engine burning not happening.

NASA also said that the spirit of the three astronauts on the Soyuz was still good and that Russian, American and Japanese astronauts working on ISS were also informed of the new assembly plan.

According to initial information, Soyuz vessel may not be at the right height or proper direction to burn the engine. This could mean that ground scientists did not calculate the correct altitude in the orbit so that the third engine could be burned.

Because it had stopped the shuttle, NASA now relies entirely on Russia to bring astronauts to ISS.

The Soyuz flight this time reflects the ongoing cooperation between Russia and the US in this mission despite the diplomatic tension between the two countries surrounding the political crisis in Ukraine.

When Soyuz successfully assembled with ISS, the new "trio" will work together with the ISS with the current "trio" including astronaut Koichi Wakata of Japan, American Rick Mastracchio and Mikhail Tyurin of Russia within 6 months. .