The out of control, crew-less Russian cargo spacecraft, which was unsuccessful in docking with the International Space Station (ISS) now ceases to exist. According to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, most of it burned up after it entered the Earth’s atmosphere on Friday. The re-entry took place over the Pacific, and just a few fragments will (or have) hit the sea.
The cargo ship was launched on April 28, but it soon lost control. The spacecraft was carrying over 3 tonnes of supplies to the ISS. The spacecraft at 5:04 Moscow time, ceased to exist after re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere over Central Pacific Ocean. The spacecraft carried fuel, food, clothing, water and oxygen for a crew of six people on the International Space Station. The ISS orbits about 420 km above the Earth.
On April 28, soon after the launch, Russian ground controllers lost contact with the spacecraft. After the communication failure, the cargo ship began spiraling out of control. Since that time, the spacecraft was orbiting the Earth over Colombia, Indonesia, Brazil and the eastern parts of the United States.
The capsules were designed in such a way that they were supposed to burn up in the atmosphere after delivering the cargo. To investigate as to what went wrong with Progress 59, a special commission has been set up in Russia.
Image Credit (ansa.it)
