Unmanned spacecraft 'plunging to Earth'

An unmanned Russian cargo spacecraft ferrying supplies to the International Space Station is plunging back to Earth and apparently out of control, an official said yesterday.

"It has started descending. It has nowhere else to go," an official familiar with the situation told AFP on condition of anonymity, speaking ahead of an official Russian space agency statement expected later in the day.

"It is clear that absolutely uncontrollable reactions have begun."

The official said the descent likely marked the end of the Progress spacecraft's mission although the Russian authorities will contact it again to make sure everything has been done to rescue it.

"We have scheduled two more communication sessions to soothe our conscience," said the official, adding it was hard to predict when exactly the vessel would fall back to Earth.

A Soyuz rocket carrying the Progress M-27M spacecraft with supplies for the ISS successfully launched on Tuesday but communication with the vessel was lost soon afterwards.

A spokesman for the Russian space agency, Mikhail Fadeyev, declined immediate comment.

The loss of the Progress supply ship would be the latest embarrassment for Russia's space programme that has been recently hit by a series of mishaps.

Russian officials said earlier Wednesday that attempts to contact the spacecraft had been unsuccessful, raising fears it could be lost for good.

The ship had been scheduled to dock with the ISS, where the international crew of six people is awaiting the cargo, on April 30.