Article Posted on : - Sep 14, 2011

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia has announced resumption of its workhorse Soyuz carrier rockets for conducting unmanned and manned space flight missions to the International Space Station from next month.

The country had grounded the launch vehicle following a crash involving an unmanned cargo craft late last month.

A Soyuz-U rocket carrying the Progress M-12M spaceship to the International Space Station had failed to reach orbit on August 24.

The cause of the crash was later traced to the malfunctioning of a gas generator of the Soyuz rocket’s third-stage engine.

Russia also deferred the next manned space flight mission scheduled for September 22.

Last month’s crash was the first loss of an automatic Progress cargo spacecraft in its decades-long history.

Russian federal space agency Roscosmos on Tuesday announced the fresh launch dates for the Soyuz vehicle.

While the Progress unmanned spacecraft will blast off on October 30, the manned space capsule on board the rocket will be launched on November 12.

“The schedule is based on analysis of readiness of the propulsion systems of third-stage rocket boosters and taking into account the implementation of all recommendations developed by the commission,” the space agency said.

The agency further said that it is presently consulting NASA to refine the work plans of the upcoming missions to the International Space Station.

Following the end of US space shuttle programme in July this year, the Russian Soyuz vehicles remain the sole means to ferry astronauts and cargo to the orbital station.