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24/08/2011
Mission Control Moscow reported an abnormal situation from the Progress 44 cargo craft that launched on time at 9 a.m. EDT today.
The Progress-M-12M blasts off from the launch pad at the Baikonour cosmodrome
Progress 44 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome into a cloudless sky at 7 p.m. Kazakhstan time bound for the International Space Station and a docking on Friday. At the time of launch, the space station was flying 230 miles over Equatorial Guinea on the west coast of Africa. The spacecraft is carrying 2.9 tons of food, fuel and supplies for the space station.
Progress M-12M 44P Launch - Failure
But, 5 minutes and 50 seconds after launch, Mission Control Houston received a report of an "off-nominal situation" during the rocket's third and final stage.
The unmanned Russian cargo spacecraft Progress has crashed in eastern Siberia after failing to reach its target orbit.
Progress M cargo spacecraft
Emergency with the carrier rocket "Soyuz-U" and not removal of cargo vehicle "Progress M-12M" on the target orbit will not affect the life support crews 28/29 International Space Station expeditions. Availability of food, water and life support systems allow for the functioning of the crew for a long period.
To investigate the reasons for this situation, a commission from among the Russian Space Agency and the organizations of the rocket-space industry.
Images, Video, Text, Credit: Press Service of the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmo PAO) / AFP, Getty / Orbiter.ch.
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