Soyuz rocket engine may have overworked because of control system glitch

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/. The engine of the carrier rocket that orbited the Progress M-27M cargo spacecraft has "overworked" and the contingency might have been caused by the control unit, a source at the Voronezh-based Chemical Automatics Design Bureau, that created the RD-0110 engine that has successfully worked in more than 1,500 launches, told TASS on Wednesday.

The contingency with the Progress spacecraft might have been caused by problems with the engine control system that was giving commands. This is also confirmed by the fact that the RF-0110 engine even "overworked," burning overtime, the source said.

The record of 1,500 launches "testifies to the high reliability and fine operation of the engine, so there should be no questions to the product’s design." According to the expert, raising the issue of "the third stage engine’s malfunction currently would not be quite appropriate."

"The RD-0110 engine has approved itself a reliable product, having only one contingency - in August 2011," the source said. But even the investigation conducted at that time at the Voronezh Mechanical Plant that was engaged in serial manufacturing of the RD-0110, showed that its production technology requirements were fully complied with.