Russian spaceship explodes on way up to space station
MOSCOW: An unmanned Russian cargo spaceship heading to the International Space Station broke up in the atmosphere over Siberia on Thursday due to an unspecified malfunction, the Russian space agency said.
The Progress MS-04 cargo craft broke up at an altitude of 190 kilometres over the remote Russian Tuva region in Siberia that borders Mongolia, Roscosmos said in a statement.
It said most of spaceship’s debris burnt up as it entered the atmosphere but some fell to Earth over what it called an uninhabited area.
Local people reported seeing a flash of light and hearing a loud thud west of the regional capital of Kyzyl, more than 3,600 kilometres east of Moscow, the Tuva government was quoted as saying late Thursday by the Interfax news agency.
The Progress cargo ship had lifted off as scheduled at 8:51 pm from Russia’s space launch complex in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, to deliver 2.5 metric tons of fuel, water, food and other supplies. It was set to dock with the space station on Saturday. AP KANDAHAR: An Afghan police official said Taliban militants have killed 23 civilians in Kandahar Province in the last 48 hours.
General Abdul Raziq said today that the killings took place in different areas of the Nash district. He did not provide further details.
Raziq said around 29 Taliban fighters and six members of the Afghan security forces have been killed in ongoing battles in the district in recent days.
AROUND 29 TALIBAN FIGHTERS HAVE BEEN KILLED IN ONGOING BATTLES IN THE DISTRICT RECENTLY