The Progress model supply spacecraft destined for the space station crashed minutes after launch

Until the investigation of the malfunction in the third stage of the rocket that carried the spacecraft, it was decided to delay the return of the three members of the 28th crew in order to leave a crew of six people on the station

The Progress 44 supply spacecraft carrying 3 tons of supplies to the International Space Station was lost yesterday due to a malfunction during the climb to orbit.

The launch took place yesterday at 9 o'clock EST (16:00 Israel time) at the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, but the control center in Moscow reported that contact with the spacecraft was lost five minutes and 50 seconds after the launch.
"At 13:00 GMT we were launched, and after 320 seconds of flight, a fault was discovered in the upper stage of the launcher. We lost contact with the spacecraft and did not receive a report about the separation of the spacecraft from the third stage," said Maxim Matuchen, head of the Russian control center.

NASA Space Station Program Manager Michael Superdini held a press conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston where he spoke about the loss of the supply spacecraft and the impact it will have on the program and crew members. According to him, there are enough supplies for the crew and the station is now in good condition, however the establishment of a Russian investigative committee to examine the cause of the vehicle's loss could cause delays in future launches.

The return of three staff members from the station may be delayed due to the malfunction. Station commander Andriy Borisenko and flight engineers Alexander Samokutiev and Ron Garan are scheduled to return to Earth on September 7. They have begun preparing the Soyuz spacecraft on which they will return. Mission managers are discussing the possibility of extending their stay in orbit to keep a six-person crew on the station as they reconsider the placement of three new crew members, including American astronaut Dan Burbank. said.

Borisenko and Smokotiev also began wearing a special garment that helps circulate blood to the lower body in preparation for returning to Earth after a long stay in space. Garan has already collected personal belongings and clothes for storage and destruction.
Flight engineer Mike Possum stored equipment from the Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment (SHERE) after the experiment was completed last week. SHERE researchers investigate the stress and strain of a polymeric fluid stretched in microgravity. Possum also cleaned the storage containers that contained the test samples in the freezer.

Flight engineer Sergei Volkov organized the RUSALKA experiment in which he used a camera and spectrometer to test processes for measuring carbon dioxide and methane levels in the Earth's atmosphere. Whereas the flight engineer and Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa collected water samples from a mobile facility for the purpose of testing bacteria and coliforms using tools from the environmental health system.