December 2, 2016

Progress MS-04 cargo vehicle launched to the ISS on December 01, 2016, at 17:51:52, Moscow time, burst at the altitude of 190 km above desolate mountain area in Tuva region. Most parts of the spacecraft burned in dense atmosphere.
The vehicle was to deliver to the ISS more than 2,5 tons of cargoes including propellant components, water, pressurized gas, Lada-2 space greenhouse designated to be used for growing sweet pepper onboard, Orlan-MKS modified spacecraft equipped with automated thermal control system that would enable cosmonauts not to spend time on turning heating system on and off manually and new year parcels for ISS-50 crew members.
First minutes of flight after the launch all systems including 1st and 2nd stages operated nominally. When 3rd stage was ignited MCC specialists started having problems with telemetry. According to preliminary data 3rd stage engine could have been ignited ahead of time. The specialists failed to obtain precise info so far.
According to Roscosmos telemetry was lost at 383 second of the flight.
At the same time they received data on navigation system antenna deployment. Solar arrays also started deploying but it is not clear whether the deployed to the full extent.
Soyuz-U that was planned to orbit next Progress will be thoroughly checked by the specialists and the launch will be shifted to an uncertain date until the investigation board finishes its work. There is also a strong possibility that because of Progress MS-04 crash next vehicle Progress MS-05 will be launched ahead of initial schedule.

More from this category:
September 17, 2014

Space industry specialists go on with preparation works for the manned launch. On September 16 RSC Energia and Yuzhny Space Centre operational crews installed Soyuz…

full story
March 4, 2014

Russian space industry specialists go on with preparations for the launch of Proton-M booster with Briz-M upper stage and cluster comprising two Russian telecommunication satellites…

full story
March 12, 2020

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center passes the second day of exam complex training. The first on the simulator of the “Soyuz MS” manned spacecraft…

full story
November 11, 2014

At 14.00, Moscow time, GCTC TU-134 aircraft with main Soyuz tMA-15M spacecraft crew comprising crew commnder Anton Shkaplerov ( Roscosmos), first flight engineer Samantha Christoforetti…

full story
April 19, 2013

According to Interfax the “crew” of science spacecraft “Bion-M” was partially changed one day before launch due to the death of one mouse, the source…

full story
May 27, 2020

The four cosmonauts shortlisted for Gaganyaan (the 1st Indian manned mission to space) resumed their training in Russia, after it was put on hold due…

full story
December 24, 2018

On December 24, 2018, the “Soyuz-2.1a” launch vehicle (LV) was removed from the technical to the launch complex of the “Vostochny” cosmodrome and installed on…

full story
February 11, 2019

Customers, launching small devices and devices of the “Kubsat” type weighing from 1 kg to 120 kg on Russian “Soyuz-2” rockets will be able to…

full story