Electrifying footage shows the moment lightning strikes a Russian Soyuz rocket during launch

Lightning struck a Russian Soyuz rocket just ten seconds into its thunderous journey up through the atmosphere, shocking footing reveals.

The electrical discharge hit the Soyuz both on its nose fairing and its third-stage booster segment, according to the spacecraft’s on-board instruments.

Unimpeded by the strike, the carrier rocket continued into its planned low-earth orbit, where it delivered its payload of a radio-based navigation satellite.   

Lightning struck a Russian Soyuz rocket (pictured) just ten seconds into its thunderous journey up through the atmosphere, shocking footing reveals. 

The Roscosmos Soyuz 2-1b rocket roared into the air from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome near Mirny, northern Russia, at 06:23 UTC (07:23 BST) on May 27, 2019.

The Soyuz 2 carrier launch, the first from the cosmodrome this year, was carrying a replacement GLONASS-M (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellite into orbit.

Ten seconds into the flight, however, the ascending rocket was hit by a bolt of lightning.

Roscosmos director Dmitry Rogozin posted a video of the launch, showing the shocking moment that the lightning struck, onto Twitter.

In the post, he congratulated the Russian space forces and scientists, adding that ‘lightning is no hindrance for you.’ 

The rocket continued its 3.5 hour flight into a low-Earth orbit, where it proceeded to deliver its satellite payload on schedule. 

‘A stable telemetric connection [was] established and maintained with the spacecraft,’ the Russian Ministry of Defense reported after the incident.

‘The on-board systems of the GLONASS-M spacecraft are functioning normally.’

Instruments about the Soyuz rocket recorded data on the lightning strike, transmitting the information with its regular telemetry to the control centre at the cosmodrome on the ground. 

‘During the liftoff, lightning struck the nose fairing and the third stage of the carrier rocket,’ an unidentified source in the Russian space industry told the Russian News Agency TASS.

‘The incident did not affect the operation of the carrier rocket’s systems, as Soyuz spacecraft are equipped with the protection mechanism against such phenomena,’ the source added.

According to the spacecraft's on-board instruments, the electrical discharge hit the Soyuz both on its nose fairing and its third-stage booster segment (pictured)

According to the spacecraft’s on-board instruments, the electrical discharge hit the Soyuz both on its nose fairing and its third-stage booster segment (pictured)

Lightning strikes on rockets might be rare, but they are not without precedent.

The Saturn V rocket that carried the Apollo 12 mission to the moon was struck twice by lightning during its ascent through the atmosphere on November 14, 1969.

The resulting power surge led to the command and service modules fuel cells and instrumentation being taken offline, and telemetry with NASA’s mission control in Houston, Texas was disrupted.  

Quick thinking from ground-based flight controller John Aaron and spacecraft systems engineer Alan Bean on board the rocket brought the command module’s systems back online by switching to a backup power supply.

Fortunately, the lightning had caused no serious permanent damage and the mission carried on to the moon as intended.

‘While rather spectacular, being struck by lightning is not particularly threatening to a rocket launch,’ UCL physicist Alan Smith told MailOnline.

‘It’s a known hazard, of course, and the outer shell of the rocket can cope with the electrical surge without affecting the interior,’ Professor Smith added.

‘Aircraft are often struck by lightning with no serious effect.

‘The metal rocket skin creates a Faraday Cage around its interior, protecting it from harm.

‘Of course there is always a chance that some critical sensor on the outside might be affected, but this has been considered.’  

Lightning strikes on rockets are not without precedent. The Saturn V rocket that carried the Apollo 12 mission to the moon (pictured, during launch) was struck twice by lightning during its ascent through the atmosphere on November 14, 1969

Lightning strikes on rockets are not without precedent. The Saturn V rocket that carried the Apollo 12 mission to the moon (pictured, during launch) was struck twice by lightning during its ascent through the atmosphere on November 14, 1969

The Soyuz 2 carrier launch, the first from the cosmodrome this year, was carrying a replacement GLONASS-M satellite into orbit. Pictured: a model GLONASS-M, which was displayed at the CeBIT computing conference in 2011

The Soyuz 2 carrier launch, the first from the cosmodrome this year, was carrying a replacement GLONASS-M satellite into orbit. Pictured: a model GLONASS-M, which was displayed at the CeBIT computing conference in 2011

HOW DID THE SOYUZ ROCKET SURVIVE BEING STRUCK BY LIGHTNING?

Lightning strikes are a known hazard for rockets, both on the launch pad and in flight. 

Rocket outer shells are designed to cope with the electrical surge without affecting the interior.

The metal rocket skin creates a Faraday Cage around its interior, protecting it from harm.

There is always the chance, however, that critical sensors on the outside of the rocket might be affected. 

‘While rather spectacular, being struck by lightning is not particularly threatening to a rocket launch,’ UCL physicist Alan Smith told MailOnline.

Aircraft, similarly, are often struck by lightning to no serious effect.

The weather on the day of the Apollo 12 launch had been cloudy, but not stormy — making the strikes themselves somewhat unexpected.

A NASA investigation into the incident later revealed that ‘lightning can be triggered by the presence of the long electrical length created by the space vehicle and its exhaust plume in an electric field which would not otherwise have produced natural lightning.’

Nowadays, space agencies have extremely stringent weather guidelines for rocket launches and lightning protection built into both spacecraft and their launch pads.

NASA regulations, for example, prohibit rockets being fuelled if there is more than a 20 per cent chance that lightning may strike within five-miles of the launch site.

Electrical field activity around rocket centres are rigorously monitored. 

Similarly, rocket launches are only permitted if no lightning or storm clouds have been observed within a 10-mile (16 km) radius of the rocket’s flight path.

Launch pads are typically fitted out with lightning rods to prevent direct strikes to their rockets before launch.

‘The weather is not an obstacle and we [the Space Force of Russia’s Aerospace Forces] are all-weather troops,’ cosmodrome chief Major-General Nikolai Nestechuk told RT.

Although the Soyuz rocket was carrying a civilian satellite, the Plesetsk cosmodrome is a Russian military facility.

‘The launch was carried out in the normal mode,’ Major-General Nestechuk added. 

‘This is yet more proof that lightning cannot damage our aerospace weapons.’  

Unimpeded by the strike, the carrier rocket continued into its planned low-earth orbit, where it delivered its payload of a radio-based navigation satellite. Pictured: A Soyuz 2-1b rocket on a launch pad at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, in October 2018.

Unimpeded by the strike, the carrier rocket continued into its planned low-earth orbit, where it delivered its payload of a radio-based navigation satellite. Pictured: A Soyuz 2-1b rocket on a launch pad at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, in October 2018.

The Roscosmos Soyuz 2-1b rocket roared into the air from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome near Mirny, northern Russia, at 06:23 UTC on May 27, 2019

The Roscosmos Soyuz 2-1b rocket roared into the air from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome near Mirny, northern Russia, at 06:23 UTC on May 27, 2019

WHAT IS RUSSIA’S SOYUZ SPACECRAFT?

Soyuz is a Russian spacecraft that carries astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space (ISS) station, as well as bringing people back to Earth.

It’s comprised of a rocket which carries a capsule into space. After launch the capsule and the rocket separate, with the rocket returning to Earth and the capsule continuing onward.

The capsule has space for three passengers and acts like a lifeboat for the ISS, with at least one Soyuz capsule always attached to the space station.

Each capsule has three parts, called modules. Crew members spend their time in orbit in the Orbital Module, which is about the size of a large van. 

A US-Russian crew launched to the ISS from Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket on March 21

A US-Russian crew launched to the ISS from Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket on March 21

The Descent Module is used by astronauts when approaching the ISS or returning to Earth. A third module houses life support systems and instruments, including batteries, solar panels and steering engines.

Soyuz launches from Kazakhstan, Russia’s southerly neighbour, and takes just six hours to get to the space station.  The crew uses the hatch on the Soyuz to enter and leave the station. When the crew is ready to come home, they ride in the Soyuz capsule back to Earth.  

To land, Soyuz drops through Earth’s atmosphere and deploys parachutes which slow its descent. When Soyuz gets close to the ground, it fires small rocket engines to further reduce its momentum. 



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