Russian space agency says names of specialists ‘who made mistake’ in Soyuz assembly ‘established’

The Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Thursday that its commission has established the identity of those who were “possibly responsible for damaging one of the sensors” of the Soyuz-FG booster, which could have caused the accident on October 11, RIA Novosti reported. The report cited a source at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, who said that their managers and supervisors were also responsible because their task was “to prevent wrong actions.” Roscosmos Executive Director for Manned Flights Sergey Krikalyov said on October 12 that the collision of elements during the separation of the carrier rocket’s first and second stages was the primary cause of the Soyuz-FG booster’s abortive launch. He said there were “no final versions” yet, according to TASS.