Errant Russian spacecraft expected to fall into Pacific Ocean
08 May 2015
The latest Russian supply mission to the International Space Station with the Progress M-27M spacecraft that went out of control is expected to fall into the Pacific Ocean any time now.
The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said the Progress 59 cargo craft reentered the Earth's atmosphere at 10:04 pm (EDT) over the central Pacific Ocean.
The launch was successful, but after entering low Earth's orbit it became unresponsive to commands.
It now appears to be tumbling in a non-stable orbit and will experience an unplanned re-entry, Roscosmos said.
US space agency NASA said the spacecraft was not carrying any supplies critical for the United States Operating Segment (USOS) of the station, and the break-up and reentry of the Progress posed no threat to the ISS crew.
''Both the Russian and USOS segments of the station continue to operate normally and are adequately supplied well beyond the next planned resupply flight'', it added.
A brief statement from Roscosmos said the Progress craft entered the planet's atmosphere about 0200 GMT.
The Russian ship was expected to mostly burn up from the friction of the re-entry and there were no reports of fragments being spotted.
The statement said the re-entry was over the central part of the ocean but did not give co-ordinates.
The cargo ship was launched on April 28 but entered the wrong orbit and went into a spin.
The next launch of a supply ship, by US company SpaceX, is planned for June.
