Roscosmos confirms Progress spaceship explodes when flying to ISS

Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos has confirmed the loss of Progress space cargo ship. Its fragments fell on the territory of the Republic of Tuva, most of the fragments of the ship burned in the atmosphere. 

Photo: AP photo

A State Commission has started an investigation into the accident.

The loss of Progress MS-04 spacecraft took place at an altitude of 190 km above deserted mountainous terrain in Tuva, a message from Roscosmos said, RBC reports.  

"The State Commission is analysing the emergency. The loss of the cargo ship will not affect either the crew or the normal operation of systems on board the International Space Station," the message reads. 

Soyuz-U carrier rocket with Progress MS-04 on board blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome on December 1, 2016. The contact with the ship was lost soon after take off. The telemetry was lost on the 383rd second of the flight, during the work of the third stage of RD-0110 rocket engine. 

For the time being, there are no comments about the causes of the incident. A source in the space industry told TASS news agency that the accident could occur due to the clogging of the fuel feed pipe. According to the source, the clogging of the pipe triggered engine shutdown. The source added that a similar accident occurred in August 2011. 

The Progress MS-04 was supposed to deliver 2.5 tons of cargo to the International Space Station: fuel for the station, containers with food, clothing, medicines, personal hygiene products, water and compressed gases for astronauts and cosmonauts.  

Pravda.Ru