Sayuz rocket: 'Faulty sensor' led to launch failure (video)

As telling bbc.com,

A Russian Soyuz rocket capsule was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after launch last month because of a faulty sensor, investigators say.

Russian officials believe the component was damaged during assembly.

They warned that two other Soyuz rockets could be defective, and said additional checks have been introduced.

The rocket had been transporting two personnel, one Russian and one American, to the International Space Station (ISS) when they had to abort.

The crew members, Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and American astronaut Nick Hague, were then recovered in good health from an escape capsule.

The incident, on 11 October, was the first serious launch problem by a manned Soyuz space mission since 1983.

The findings of an official investigation into the incident were presented at a press conference on Thursday.

Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Wednesday it hopes to resume manned missions with a three-person launch to the ISS on 3 December.

That mission was originally scheduled for later December, but officials want to bring it forward to ensure the station is not left unmanned in autopilot when its current three-man crew depart for Earth.