Russia blames ISS incident on software glitch

A software failure caused thrusters on its new lab module to switch on and move the International Space Station (ISS) off course after the new module docked, Russia said.

Engines on the new Nauka science lab switched on three hours after docking with the ISS on Thursday, pushing the whole space station out of position for 47 minutes before NASA ground crew managed to fix the problem.

Russian space agency bosses said they would work on changing a newly attached module which was at fault during the minor accident.

What has Russia said?

Vladimir Solovyov, the flight director for the Russia segment of the ISS, said that the situation had been contained on the Nauka.

“Due to a short-term software failure, a direct command was mistakenly implemented to turn on the module’s engines for withdrawal, which led to some modification of the orientation of the complex as a whole,” Solovyov said.

The head of the Russian space programme Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said “a human factor” could have been part of the problem.