Progress Cargo Vessel Docking With Space Station Canceled

© Photo : RoscosmosProgress Cargo Vessel
Progress Cargo Vessel - Sputnik International
Subscribe
A rocket space industry source said that the spacecraft would gradually fall into the Earth’s atmosphere and burn, which may take approximately a week.

Progress Cargo Vessel - Sputnik International
Don't Wait for Progress: Docking With International Space Station Unlikely
MOSCOW, April 29 (Sputnik) — The docking of the Progress cargo vessel with the International Space Station has been called off and the vessel may continue spinning in space until it drops into the Earth’s atmosphere and burns up, a rocket space industry source told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

“Full contact with the Progress will most likely not occur, therefore the cargo vessel may be designated as space junk threatening security. There will be no docking with the ISS,” the source said.

Mission Control has not yet officially confirmed the cancellation of the docking.

The source said that the spacecraft would gradually fall into the Earth’s atmosphere and burn, which may take approximately a week.

“The ship may continue flying in an uncontrollable spin for no less than a week, and then enter the atmosphere and burn,” the source added.

Progress took off from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan on Tuesday at 07:10 GMT and was scheduled to dock with the ISS later the same day.

Following liftoff, ground systems were unable to receive the spacecraft’s telemetry, and Mission Control began a 48-hour docking program which failed to bring results.

Earlier on Wednesday carrier rocket expert Igor Afanasyev told RIA Novosti that the incident was the very first emergency situation of the kind to occur with Progress space vessels and there were no ready algorithms in place on how to solve it.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала