International Space Station manned mission may delayed for spacecraft failure

Program of the upcoming manned mission to the International Space Station (ISS) would be re-adjusted due to the recent failure of the Progress M-27M cargo craft, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said Wednesday.

"The program of the next expedition to the ISS on May 26 may be adjusted due to possible postponements of the launch dates of cargo spacecraft and amendments to the ISS flight program," Roscosmos' Mission Control Center said in a statement.

The new ISS crew has been preparing for its mission at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center located in the Star City east of Moscow.

The crew members of Oleg Kononenko (Russia), Yui Kimiya (Japan), and Kjell Lindgren (the United States) are undergoing examination training on the simulator of the Russian segment of the ISS.

According to Roscosmos, the uncontrolled Progress is expected to enter atmosphere and perish on May 8.

Roscosmos said it would be able to define precise timing and area of the Progress debris fall 24 hours in advance.

RIA Novosti news agency quoted a Roscosmos source as saying that the Progress will perish on May 8 between 1:23 a.m. and 9:55 p.m. Moscow time (2223 GMT May 7 and 1855 GMT May 8).

The Progress M-27M, launched by a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on April 28, was planned to dock with the International Space Station six hours after the blast-off.

However, the mission failed as the spacecraft went into an uncontrolled spin in the space and eventually kept dropping in orbit.

Last Wednesday, Roscosmos head Igor Komarov said a special commission has been set up to investigate the causes of the incident, while a report on their findings is expected by the end of May.

The Progress resupply vehicle was carrying about 2.5 tons of cargo, including fuel, oxygen, food and scientific equipment.