RUSSIAN SPACESHIP FALLING TOWARD EARTH
An unmanned Russian spacecraft is falling toward Earth, after mission control officials abandoned efforts to stabilize it after it entered the wrong orbit. Progress M-27M, launched Tuesday, was carrying 2.5 tons of food and supplies to the International Space Station, but didn’t arrive six hours after launch. Officials say crew members aboard the space station have plenty of food and are in no immediate danger. “The speed of the descent will vary depending on the state of the atmosphere and solar winds,” a space-agency source told Russian wire service RIA Novosti. “We will be able to exactly calculate where and when Progress fragments that don’t burn in the atmosphere will fall only a few hours before that happens.” RIA Novosti reports that the ship was insured for 2 billion rubles. The total cost of the failed mission, however, is closer to 5 billion rubles—nearly $100 million. In addition to cargo for the International Space Station, Progress was carrying symbolic gifts: St. George’s ribbons and other trinkets to commemorate 70 years since Russia’s victory over Germany in World War II.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2015/04/28/progress-59-cargo-craft-updates/?linkId=13840090.html&via=newsletter&source=CSAMedition
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