Progress Failure Reason Remains Unknown - Russian Deputy Prime Minister

GORKI (Moscow Region) (Sputnik) — Reasons for the incident with the Progress cargo vessel are not yet known, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Thursday.

"The Commission has begun its work, it has to establish the causes. If we were dealing with a material part, we could say what happened. But nobody has any significant versions at the moment. It is very strange. Professionals need to thoroughly work on the issue," Rogozin told reporters.

Speaking about the possibility of the personnel replacements following the incident, Rogozin said time was needed for the State Commission to make its conclusion.

The Progress M-27M spacecraft, carrying fuel, oxygen, food and scientific equipment for the International Space Station (ISS) crew, was launched aboard a Soyuz carrier rocket from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on Tuesday. The craft stopped transmitting telemetry shortly after the booster separation and began to spin.

On Wednesday, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) announced the loss of the Progress Space Freighter. Russia's Energia space corporation stressed that the incident does not endanger the ISS or the work of its crew.

The Progress cargo vessel's flight is expected to end on May 5-7 when burns up in the atmosphere, according to Energia.