Russian cargo ship destroyed after launch
for Space Station
Send a link to a friend
[December 03, 2016]
By Irene Klotz
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - An
unmanned Russian cargo ship loaded with more than 2-1/2 tons of food and
supplies for the International Space Station broke apart about six
minutes after liftoff on Thursday, Russia's space agency Roscosmos said
in a statement.
A Soyuz rocket carrying the Progress capsule blasted off from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as planned at 9:51 a.m. EST, a NASA TV
broadcast showed.
But ground control teams then lost radio contact with the rocket and
most of the spacecraft fragments burned in the dense atmosphere,
Roscosmos said in a statement.
It added that the capsule was last confirmed flying at an altitude of
about 190 km (118 miles) over the remote and unpopulated area of the
Republic of Tyva.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
The six-member crew aboard the International Space Station is not in any
danger and has enough supplies for several months, NASA said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Dec/03/images/ads/current/charrons_bch041713.png)
Thursday’s launch was the fourth failed cargo run to the station in the
past two years, including one previous Progress failure.
The accident comes at a critical time because SpaceX, one of two U.S.
companies flying supplies to the station for NASA, has not yet returned
to flight following a Sept. 1 launch pad accident.
SpaceX is awaiting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration,
which oversees U.S. commercial space transportation, to fly as early as
Dec. 16 with 10 satellites owned by Iridium Communications Inc.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/120316pics/news_n25.jpg)
A Russian Progress MS-04 space cargo ship with food and supplies for
the International Space Station blasts off from the launch pad at
the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, December 1, 2016.
Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERS
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_090916.png)
SpaceX's next cargo flight for NASA is targeted for January. Orbital
ATK and Japan's space agency also fly supplies to the station, a
$100 billion laboratory that flies about 250 miles (418 km) above
Earth.
Launch of a Japanese cargo ship is scheduled for Dec. 9.
(Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Tom Brown)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Dec/03/images/ads/current/fcs_funeral_lda082613.png) |