Russian Space Agency Investigating Cargo Ship Failure

Russia’s space agency says an unmanned supply ship that failed to reach the International Space Station will fall back to Earth on May 8 and burn up in the atmosphere.

In a statement, the Russian space agency said the Progress supply ship would “end its existence on May 8, between 1:23 a.m. and 9:55 p.m."

The space agency said the crash would be similar to a planned descent. Such supply capsules normally burn up in the atmosphere after depositing their cargo.

The Soviet-designed spaceship blasted off on April 28 with a cargo that includes oxygen, water, and spare parts for the orbiting laboratory.

Authorities say they lost contact with the ship a few hours after it was launched and that it was unable to dock with the International Space Station.

The deputy chief of the Roscosmos space agency, Alexander Ivanov, says a special commission is investigating why the cargo ship could not reach its intended destination.

Based on reporting by Russia, Belarus, and Tajikistan