The landing of the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft on April 23 in the Kazakh steppe went according to the flight program — the parachutes opened, and the soft landing engines worked. However, after touching the ground, the spacecraft unexpectedly tumbled and momentarily stood "on its head." Cosmonaut Ivan Wagner published spectacular footage of the landing.
According to him, the landing was normal, but "heartless gravity" and the peculiarities of the terrain made adjustments. The somersault was probably caused by a high horizontal speed during descent or uneven terrain — a bump, stone, or other obstacle under the hull.
On board were cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, Alexander Wagner, and NASA astronaut Donald Pettit. None of the crew was injured — all were securely fastened in their seats.
The design of the Soyuz is designed for such "deviations from the ideal": even sharp movements during landing are not considered an emergency. The spacecraft and crew are prepared for increased loads in the final phase of the flight.
The soft landing engines are triggered approximately one meter above the surface and reduce the speed to less than 3 m/s. But sometimes this is not enough — nature takes its toll.
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The Soyuz MS-26 crew with cosmonauts Wagner and Ovchinin returned to Earth
