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Russian space boffins have lost control of a Progress cargo capsule which had been due to deliver 6,000lb of supplies to the International Space Station. The crazy podule is spinning and tumbling in orbit above the Earth as controllers try to establish contact with it.
The Progress 59 space-mule lifted off flawlessly from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0309 EDT (0109 local time) today, and was scheduled to rendezvous with the ISS on Thursday. But shortly after takeoff the spacecraft's telemetry started failing, and the cargo pod is now not accepting navigation commands.
"The Russian flight control team attempted to command the vehicle over four orbits flying over Russian ground sites with no success," said NASA in a blog post. ( https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2015/04/29/progress-59-cargo-craft-updates/ )
"The next series of ground station passes is expected to resume late Tuesday evening. Teams are standing down on the Thursday docking attempt while Russian teams continue to analyze data and develop a troubleshooting plan going forward."
The blunder appear to stem from improperly deployed navigational antennas, and problems with the pressurization of the manifolds in the propulsion system. The Progress capsule is still in a low orbit, and doesn't pose a direct threat to the ISS.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/04/28/russian_iss_cargo_out_of_control/
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 30 2015, @03:12AM
Good God, man, they're double agents! Someone inform James Bond immediately.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday April 30 2015, @04:34PM
There's nothing like injecting some of those bizarre British slang terms into the conversation to confuse 90% of listeners!
That chav's sodding knackered! Shove him in the bloody boot with some chips.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"