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/
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The Russian spacecraft Progress M-27M, which attempted to deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), faces fiery death on Friday:
A Russian spacecraft that has been out of control since launching last week will fall back to Earth and burn up on Friday, scientists say. The unmanned cargo ship was launched from Kazakhstan last Tuesday, but contact was lost with it soon afterwards. The spacecraft, carrying three tonnes of equipment, will disintegrate as it enters Earth's atmosphere.
The craft was spotted by the ISS days ago. This was the 150th launch of a Progress craft.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 30 2015, @03:12AM
So uh, why is it "OUT OF CONTROL", in all caps suggesting a sense of urgency, but then followed by a period? Shouldn't there be an exclamation mark or no end punctuation at all? Its like you're screaming just to be screaming because its not really a big deal. Full stops have THAT KIND OF EFFECT.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 30 2015, @03:33AM
EDITING quality is NONEXISTENT here, didn't you KNOW?
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 30 2015, @07:43AM
funny. i don't see you putting in an offer to improve the situation... you must be a democrat!
(Score: 2, Informative) by frojack on Thursday April 30 2015, @03:34AM
Title copied directly from The Register, as was the rest of the submission.
Its just a "Vulturism".
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Informative) by janrinok on Thursday April 30 2015, @07:24AM
It was wrong, and I have corrected it. You will note that, despite the recent recruitment of several editors, it sometimes happens that the load falls onto the shoulders of 1 person for a while. CoolHand has been posting alone for over 12 hours and I guess the odd mistake was bound to occur at some point. I am just starting my day and saw the same thing you did, so I have corrected it.
(Score: 2) by CoolHand on Thursday April 30 2015, @01:00PM
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job-Douglas Adams
(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?"
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 30 2015, @03:41AM
White women drop your drawers this one's for you!
(Score: 4, Funny) by mhajicek on Thursday April 30 2015, @04:07AM
They should have played more Kerbal.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 3, Funny) by pkrasimirov on Thursday April 30 2015, @07:03AM
I am sure the ruskies have played more real-world SP than I did play KSP, and I did play KSP a lot. IMO the problem is the old russian players are steadily going into retirement and the newbies have not played enough yet. However, this doesn't seem to be the problem cause here. Progress vehicle design is not exactly new. Also flight controls are pretty much automated. I suppose someone at assembly or procurement tried to cut corners. The wrong ones.
(Score: 2, Funny) by riT-k0MA on Thursday April 30 2015, @06:36AM
See? This is what happens when Kerbal Space Program is updated with buggy features! Now we have to wait for the developer to push a hotfix before they can regain control of their craft...