Engineering:Soyuz 7K-ST No. 16L

Short description: Unsuccessful Soyuz spacecraft mission

Soyuz 7K-ST No.16L

Mission duration	00:05:13
Orbits completed	Failed to orbit
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Soyuz-T
Manufacturer	NPO Energia
Launch mass	6850 kg
Crew
Crew size	2
Members	Vladimir Titov Gennady Strekalov
Callsign	Okean (Ocean)
Start of mission
Launch date	26 September 1983, 19:37:49 UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-U
Launch site	Baikonur, Site 1/5
End of mission
Landing date	26 September 1983, 19:43:02 UTC
Landing site	Baikonur
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Epoch	26 September 1983 (planned)
Soyuz programme (Crewed missions)

Soyuz 7K-ST No.16L, sometimes known as Soyuz T-10a or T-10-1, was an unsuccessful Soyuz mission intended to visit the Salyut 7 space station, which was occupied by the Soyuz T-9 crew. However, it never finished its launch countdown; the launch vehicle was destroyed on the launch pad by fire on September 26, 1983. The launch escape system of the Soyuz spacecraft fired six seconds before the launch vehicle exploded, saving the crew. It is the first case in which a launch escape system has been fired with a crew on board.

Crew

Position	Crew
Commander	Vladimir Titov Would have been second spaceflight
Flight Engineer	Gennady Strekalov Would have been third spaceflight

Mission parameters

• Mass: 6850 kg
• Perigee: N/A
• Apogee: N/A
• Inclination: N/A
• Period: N/A

Mission highlights

The Soyuz spacecraft narrowly escapes disaster.

The crew was sitting on the pad awaiting fueling of the Soyuz-U booster to complete prior to liftoff. Approximately 90 seconds before the intended launch, a bad valve caused nitrogen pressurization gas to enter the RP-1 turbopump of the Blok B strap-on. The pump began spinning up, but with no propellant in it, the speed of rotation quickly exceeded its design limits which caused it to rupture and allow RP-1 to leak out and start a fire which quickly engulfed the base of the launch vehicle. Titov and Strekalov could not see what was happening outside, but they felt unusual vibrations and realized that something was amiss. The launch control team activated the escape system but the control cables had already burned through, and the Soyuz crew could not activate or control the escape system themselves. The backup radio command to fire the LES required 2 independent operators to receive separate commands to do so and each act within 5 seconds, which took several seconds to occur. Then explosive bolts fired to separate the descent module from the service module and the upper launch payload shroud from the lower, the escape system motor fired, dragging the orbital module and descent module, encased within the upper shroud, free of the booster with an acceleration of 14 to 17g (137 to 167 m/s²) for five seconds. According to Titov, "We could feel the booster swaying from side to side. Then there was a sudden vibration and a jerking sensation as the LES activated."

Just after the escape tower pulled the descent module away, the booster exploded. Its remains burned on the pad for nearly 20 hours. Four grid fins on the outside of the shroud opened and the descent module separated from the orbital module at an altitude of 650 meters (2132 feet), dropping free of the shroud. The descent module discarded its heat shield, exposing the solid-fuel landing rockets, and deployed a fast-opening emergency parachute. Touchdown occurred about four kilometers (2.4 miles) from the launch pad. The two crew members were badly bruised after the high acceleration, but were otherwise in good health and did not require any medical attention. Upon being greeted by recovery crews, they immediately asked for cigarettes to steady their nerves. The cosmonauts were then given shots of vodka to help them relax.

American KH-11 reconnaissance satellites returned photos of the damaged LC-1 in several runs during late 1983 and early 1984.

The descent module was refurbished and later used on Soyuz T-15.

The failure's immediate result was the inability to replace the aging Soyuz T-9 return capsule attached to the Salyut 7 space station. This led to dire reports in the Western media about the cosmonauts remaining aboard Salyut 7 (which had arrived several months before in the T-9) being 'stranded' in space, with no ability to return.

Official reports by the Soviet news agency TASS gave few details, merely saying that there had been a pad accident and the cosmonauts were rescued by the LES. It was not until several years later during glasnost that the full story of the accident was revealed to the outside world.

Years later, in an interview with the American History Channel regarding the flight, Titov claimed that the crew's first action after the escape rocket fired was to deactivate the spacecraft's cockpit voice recorder because, as he put it, "We were swearing".

See also

• Soyuz 7K-T No.39 – a 1975 Soyuz launch failure
• Soyuz MS-10 – A similar incident in 2018
• Space accidents and incidents

External links

• "History of Soyuz Escape System", Russian Spaceweb website