Accidental firing of Russian rocket causes Space Station to tilt

• The ISS unexpectedly tilted after a faulty test firing of thrusters on a Russian Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, the second such incident aboard the ISS
• NASA and Roscosmos ground teams tried to regain control of the station about 30 minutes after it lost positioning control at 5:13AM ET
• According to a statement from Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, those aboard the ISS were never at risk

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: The International Space Station (ISS) unexpectedly tilted after a faulty test firing of thrusters on a Russian Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, the second such incident aboard the ISS.

According to a statement from Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, those aboard the ISS were never at risk.

NASA and Roscosmos ground teams tried to regain control of the station about 30 minutes after it lost positioning control at 5:13AM ET.

The incident began when cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky was testing the engines of the spacecraft, while it is docked with the station.

In a statement, a NASA spokesperson said the Soyuz thruster test firing unexpectedly continued beyond the point when its was planned to end.

In July, thrusters on Russia’s Nauka module fired “uncontrollably,” reorienting the ISS by about 45 degrees and taking at least an hour to regain control. AT that time, NASA stressed that such incidents were rare.

A Russian film crew that traveled to the ISS on 5th October later returned to Earth aboard the Soyuz spacecraft that misfired. According to officials, the incident delayed the movie’s filming schedule.