Russian investigators identify responsible for failed Soyuz launch

MOSCOW - Members of Roscosmos commission and investigators have identified those who could be responsible in the damage to one of the sensing devices on board the Soyuz-FG carrier rocket, which could have led to the failed launch of the Soyuz MS-10 manned spacecraft, a source at the Baikonur space center told Sputnik on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, a source at the spaceport told Sputnik that the state commission investigating the incident tended to believe that an "unintentional error" occurred during the assembly of the carrier rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. However, the source added that it was still "an open question why the mistake had not been noticed by the inspectors."

The source believed that such a version would be the most favorable for both Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos and Space Rocket Center Progress, adding that in this case the permission to resume rocket launches would be granted soon.

Launches of Soyuz carrier rockets have been suspended following the October 11 accident during the launch of a Soyuz-FG launch vehicle carrying the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft with two new International Space Station (ISS) crew members on board.

A Russian space industry source told Sputnik earlier this week that the commission would draw its final conclusions on the causes of the incident on October 20.