Dead due to “poisoning by mushrooms» found a famous Russian scientist which was instrumental in Moscow’s recent failed attempt to land the Luna25 unmanned spacecraft on the Moon.
According to “Moskovsky Komsomolets”, as well as international media, World-renowned Russian rocket launch expert Vitaly Melnikov dies aged 77.
The exact circumstances of his death are still unclear, but the “preliminary” investigation showed that “the source of the poisoning was inedible mushrooms”writes the Russian newspaper.
“Despite intensive medical care, doctors could not save Melnikov, who had been hospitalized after the launch of the spaceship on August 11”wrote “Moskovsky Komsomolets”.
Melnikov was head of the rocket and space systems department at RSC Energia, one of the leading space companies in Moscow. He was also a chief researcher in a division of the Russian space agency Roskosmos. With a total of 291 scientific articles, Melnikov enjoyed a great reputation worldwide and worked closely with his foreign colleagues.
Moscow’s first lunar mission in half a century, dubbed Luna-25, ended in disaster: the probe crashed on the lunar surface on August 19. NASA, in fact, released video from the crash site.
The unmanned spacecraft failed to land on the moon, although it orbited the moon and sent back pictures of Earth’s satellite. “Possibly there was a problem with the electronics and orientation control systems. We know that Luna-25’s launch dates have been pushed back and forth for several years, perhaps five years. This was done only because of problems with the electronics, because of the sanctions imposed on Russia after the annexation of Crimea.”points out Russian space analyst Vitaly Yegorov.
The head of Roskosmos, Yuri Borisov, had characterized the project as “risky” from the beginning. He even reportedly told President Putin in June that the project’s chance of success was “about 70%.”
Source: News Beast
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