--- title: "Russia Just Accidentally Spun the Space Station AGAIN" description: "Russia's space agency Roscosmos announced that its Soyuz spacecraft caused the orientation of the International Space Station to change." date: "2021-10-15" modified: "2021-10-15" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/russia-spun-space-station-again" categories: - "Space" tags: - "international space station" - "Roscosmos" - "soyuz" - "the digest" --- # Russia Just Accidentally Spun the Space Station AGAIN ![Russia's space agency Roscosmos announced that its Soyuz spacecraft caused the orientation of the International Space Station to change.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Change of Orientation Russian state-owned news agency *TASS* [reported today]() that the country's Soyuz spacecraft caused the orientation of the International Space Station to change — the second incident of a Russian-made spacecraft causing the station to spin unexpectedly since July. "During the SoyuzMS18 engines testing, the station’s orientation was impacted," reads a [tweet]() by the country's space agency Roscosmos. "As a result, the ISS orientation was temporarily changed. The station’s orientation was swiftly recovered due to the actions of the ISS Russian Segment Chief Operating Control Group specialists." It's unclear how much the ISS spun, but fortunately, nobody was hurt. "The station and the crew are not endangered," the Energia Space Rocket Corporation, part of Roscosmos, told *TASS*. ## Spinning Again It's the second incident of its kind in recent months. In July, Russia's brand new Nauka module [unexpectedly fired its thrusters]() just hours after docking with the ISS, causing the entire station to spin [one-and-a-half times](). The July incident marked the first time NASA flight director Zebulon Scoville had to declare a "spacecraft emergency," as he later [admitted to *The New York Times*](). The Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft that caused the erratic behavior is scheduled to carry actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko back down to Earth after their [weeklong stint]() on board the ISS filming the [first feature-length movie in space](). Three astronauts took a brief ride on the spacecraft late last month to [relocate it for the arrival]() of Persild and Shipenko. Fortunately, Russia says, nobody was at risk during today's blunder — but the repeated screwups don't exactly instill confidence. **More on the July incident:** *[Crisis Briefly Spins International Space Station Out of Control]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()