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Failed Russian cargo spaceship mission will end in flames
An uncrewed Russian spacecraft has failed its mission to deliver thousands of pounds of supplies to astronauts and cosmonauts living on the International Space Station.
Russia's Progress vehicle will burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere at some point soon, according to NASA astronaut and current space station resident Scott Kelly.
“Roscosmos announced that the Progress will not be docking, and will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere here some days in the future to be determined, but the Progress — this Progress — is not coming to the space station,” Kelly, who is also participating in the ISS' first yearlong mission, told the Associated Press Wednesday in an interview on NASA TV.
“Docking has been called off for the Progress 59 spacecraft,” NASA officials said in a statement on Wednesday. “Russian flight controllers are continuing to assess the vehicle and what the plan going forward will be.”
The six crew members living and working on the ISS are not in danger. Even without the 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of cargo on the Progress, they have plenty of food and supplies to last them for a while, according to NASA.
The Progress was carrying clothes for astronauts about to fly up to the ISS, food, hardware for suits used for spacewalking and other supplies.
“The important thing is that hardware can be replaced, and we’ll replace all that hardware,” Kelly said. “We’ll continue to operate the space station.”
Mission controllers started having trouble with the Progress resupply vehicle shortly after it launched to space Tuesday at 3:09 a.m. ET (7:09 a.m. GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Video taken by the Progress’ onboard cameras after launch showed the spacecraft in an uncontrolled spin.
The spacecraft was initially expected to dock to the ISS about six hours after launch. Russian mission controllers are still trying to gain control of the spacecraft, according to local reports, but the ship will not dock to the station.
Once the Progress' problems were detected, officials reverted to a plan that would have the Progress docking to the ISS on Thursday. But even with more time, Russian controllers weren’t able to communicate with the craft, ruling out any docking attempt.
This is only the second time a Progress has failed to reach the ISS. Another Progress was lost when a Soyuz rocket failed after launch in 2011, according to NASA spokesperson Rob Navias.
The ISS currently has an international fleet of unpiloted vehicles that bring supplies to the station. SpaceX’s Dragon cargo ship and Japan’s HTV vehicles ferry cargo to the station. The private spaceflight company Orbital Sciences also has a contract to bring supplies to the ISS.
An uncrewed Russian spacecraft has failed its mission to deliver thousands of pounds of supplies to astronauts and cosmonauts living on the International Space Station.
Russia's Progress vehicle will burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere at some point soon, according to NASA astronaut and current space station resident Scott Kelly.
“Roscosmos announced that the Progress will not be docking, and will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere here some days in the future to be determined, but the Progress — this Progress — is not coming to the space station,” Kelly, who is also participating in the ISS' first yearlong mission, told the Associated Press Wednesday in an interview on NASA TV.
“Docking has been called off for the Progress 59 spacecraft,” NASA officials said in a statement on Wednesday. “Russian flight controllers are continuing to assess the vehicle and what the plan going forward will be.”
The six crew members living and working on the ISS are not in danger. Even without the 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of cargo on the Progress, they have plenty of food and supplies to last them for a while, according to NASA.
The Progress was carrying clothes for astronauts about to fly up to the ISS, food, hardware for suits used for spacewalking and other supplies.
“The important thing is that hardware can be replaced, and we’ll replace all that hardware,” Kelly said. “We’ll continue to operate the space station.”
Mission controllers started having trouble with the Progress resupply vehicle shortly after it launched to space Tuesday at 3:09 a.m. ET (7:09 a.m. GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Video taken by the Progress’ onboard cameras after launch showed the spacecraft in an uncontrolled spin.
The spacecraft was initially expected to dock to the ISS about six hours after launch. Russian mission controllers are still trying to gain control of the spacecraft, according to local reports, but the ship will not dock to the station.
Once the Progress' problems were detected, officials reverted to a plan that would have the Progress docking to the ISS on Thursday. But even with more time, Russian controllers weren’t able to communicate with the craft, ruling out any docking attempt.
This is only the second time a Progress has failed to reach the ISS. Another Progress was lost when a Soyuz rocket failed after launch in 2011, according to NASA spokesperson Rob Navias.
The ISS currently has an international fleet of unpiloted vehicles that bring supplies to the station. SpaceX’s Dragon cargo ship and Japan’s HTV vehicles ferry cargo to the station. The private spaceflight company Orbital Sciences also has a contract to bring supplies to the ISS.
