Russian Cargo Ship Destroyed En Route To Space Station; Will The Astronauts Go Hungry Now?

An unmanned Russian cargo spaceship that was on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) broke up in the atmosphere on Thursday. The craft got destroyed due to an unspecified malfunction somewhere over Siberia, the Russian space agency said.

The Progress MS-04 cargo ship, which was en route to the ISS, broke up at an altitude of 190 kilometers over the remote Siberian region of Tuva, located close to the Mongolian border. The Telegraph reported that some of the remnants of the spaceship burnt up as it entered the atmosphere, while part of the debris fell over an uninhabited area of the planet. A loud thud accompanied with a flash of light was seen by the local people.

The cargo ship was headed to the ISS to deliver 2.5 metric tons of food, water, fuel and other supplies. Launched at 8:51 p.m. local time from Kazakhstan's Baikonur space launch complex, the craft was scheduled to dock with the space laboratory on Saturday.

Incidentally, this is the third incident of a botched launch for a Russian spacecraft in two years. In May 2015, a Progress cargo ship had fallen into the Pacific Ocean. May 2014 saw a Proton-M rocket transporting an advanced satellite breakup in the atmosphere.

But will the failed delivery of essential supplies mean that astronauts will be left high and dry without the essential supplies? Both NASA and Roscosmos have said that the crash of the cargo ship will have no adverse effect on the operation of the ISS or on those living aboard it.

Currently, there are six crew members who call the space station their home, including two NASA astronauts, three Russian cosmonauts and one member from the European Union. The Orbital ATK had successfully delivered supplies to the flying lab in October, and a Japanese cargo craft is soon scheduled to transport a full load of supplies in mid December.