What Happened: A U.S. astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut have been picked up by rescuers after a malfunction in their Soyuz rocket's booster forced them to make an emergency landing, the BBC reported Oct. 11.
Why It Matters: The incident is believed to be the first failure since 1983 of a Soyuz spacecraft, which was designed during the Soviet era and has seen regular use since. The malfunction and emergency landing demonstrate the continued deterioration of Russia's space program.
Background: After the malfunction, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov announced a temporary suspension of manned missions under his country's space program, which has suffered 13 technical failures since 2010.
Read More:
- Space: The Final Frontier for War? (Sept. 20, 2018)
- China, Russia: Beijing and Moscow to Sign Joint Space Agreement (Aug. 30, 2017)
- Space: The Increasingly Crowded Frontier (March 25, 2016)
