ISS Resupply Ship Fails During Flight

Next supply mission scheduled for December 9.

By Michael Passalacqua

A Russian resupply ship bound for the International Space Station (ISS) has been lost, Russian space agency Roscosmos has confirmed.

The ISS Progress 65 cargo spacecraft included "1,400 pounds of propellant, 112 pounds of oxygen, 925 pounds of water, and 2,750 pounds of spare parts, supplies, and scientific experiment hardware," which equated to more than 2.6 tons of cargo for the ISS, according to NASA.

The six crew members aboard the ISS are safe, with both the U.S. and Russian segments operating normally and onboard supplies at good levels.

No one was aboard the spacecraft, which launched on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:51 a.m. EST. According to NASA, via CBS, the third stage of operation may have shut down "earlier than planned," causing "an anomaly around six and a half minutes into its flight." The Russians have formed a State Commission to investigate for more specific details.

The next mission to deliver cargo to the ISS is scheduled for Friday, December 9 from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

In other space news, earlier this week NASA launched a competition to help figure out what to do if astronauts have to poop in their spacesuits.

Michael Passalacqua is a freelance writer for IGN. Chat with him on Twitter about the New York Giants’ unsurprising mediocrity.

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