Illustration: Launch of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket.
A section of the separating stage from the `Soyuz-2.1b` launch vehicle has impacted the ground in the Vilyuysky District of Yakutia, as confirmed by the Republic’s Rescue Service.
“A team of rescuers in the Vilyuysky district, working alongside employees from Roscosmos (Russia`s state space corporation), confirmed the fragment`s landing near the Yugulyatsky rural settlement in the Vilyuysky Ulus at 10:31 PM Yakutsk time,” the official announcement stated.
Following the debris impact, specialists from Moscow, Khabarovsk, and Yakutsk were dispatched immediately to the site. Their primary mission is to conduct a thorough examination and determine if there are any traces of potential radiological contamination in the area.
The launch vehicle originally lifted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on Sunday. The rocket successfully placed the `Fregat` upper stage into orbit, which was responsible for deploying 52 satellites.
Clement Ashworth