Russian Space Agency Develops Program to Improve Carrier Rocket Assembly Quality

Russia's Roscosmos has developed a special program to improve the Soyuz carrier rockets' quality amid an accident with the Progress cargo spacecraft two months ago.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia's state space agency Roscosmos chief said Friday the agency has developed a special program to improve the assembly quality of Soyuz carrier rockets in wake of an accident with the Progress cargo spacecraft two months ago.

"A special program has been developed, which has been perfected with our colleagues, and we understood its necessity," head of Roscosmos Igor Komarov told the Rossiya-24 broadcaster.

Komarov said the program relies on inspections and the likely causes of the December 1 Progress accident in south Siberia.

"This applies to welds, pyrotechnic fasteners, oxidizer pumps and the assembly of all engine components," he said.

The Progress MS-04 space freighter burned up in the atmosphere and its debris fell in Tuva Republic after a faulty launch on board a Soyuz-U carrier rocket on December 1.

Roscosmos said last month a ruptured oxidant tank on the third stage of the Soyuz-M most likely caused the accident.