14 DAY TRIAL // On Tuesday, at 1:09 p.m. local time, a Soyuz rocket carrying a cargo resupply spacecraft meant for the International Space Station launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Shortly after launch, the cargo ship successfully separated from the Soyuz rocket. The thing is that, rather than reach the International Space Station as planned, the cargo ship is now aimlessly floating about, circling our planet.
The lost cargo ship is unreachable
NASA officials explain that, having broken free from the Soyuz rocket that lifted it off the ground and delivered it into Earth's orbit, the ISS Progress 59 cargo spacecraft failed to send confirmation that its navigational systems had been deployed and that its propelling system was functioning properly.
After several unfruitful attempts to establish contact with the cargo ship, the Russian flight control team in charge of this mission decided to postpone its rendezvous with the International Space Station.
Should the ISS Progress 59 cargo ship become responsive in the hours to come, it might still be allowed to dock at the International Space Station. If not, it’s unclear what will happen to it.
Footage obtained by the cargo ship’s engineering camera and showing a view of Earth from aboard the lost vehicle made it online just hours ago and is available below. This video proves that the ship is now spinning out of control.
Just for the record, it must be said that, back in 2011, a similar Russian cargo ship ended up free-falling back to Earth after suffering a severe malfunction just minutes after launch. This other cargo ship, also launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, crashed in Russia's Altai region.
Word has it that the ISS Progress 59 ship that Russia lost in space this past Tuesday carries well over 3 tons of supply. Its cargo includes food, water, oxygen, propellant and equipment for scientific experiments that are now underway aboard the International Space Station.
Astronauts can do without these supplies
NASA reassures that, at least for now, astronauts aboard the International Space Station can do without the supplies that were lost when the ISS Progress 59 cargo ship went haywire. They have everything they could possibly need and so have nothing to worry about.
“Both the Russian and US operating segments of the station continue to operate normally and are adequately supplied well beyond the next planned resupply flight,” NASA writes in a statement.
As for the next resupply services mission, the space agency says that it is scheduled to take place sometime in June. This mission will see 1.5 tons of supplies delivered to the International Space Station.
