Jeff Findley wrote:
Since the same failure of the SM to completely separate from the DM has
happened on two missions in a row, you'd think the Russians would want to
get to the bottom of this. Considering that there is a Soyuz at ISS which
could have the same problem as the other two, I'm shocked that the Russian
officials are essentially denying that there is a problem.


As James Oberg pointed out, the first time anyone heard that TMA-10 had
had a SM separation problem as well as a ballistic descent was after the
TMA-11 problem.
As there were no American astronauts aboard the TMA-10 when it landed,
they apparently "neglected" to inform NASA about the SM separation problem.
I'd say TMA-12 is pretty iffy as far as reentry safety goes, and it
_will_ be bringing an American space tourist home - Richard Garriott:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Garriott
This may inspire whole new concepts for his video games, as the "Game
Over" function in this scenario involves a real coffin.

Pat