Russian space agency, Roscosmos just confirmed that their unmanned spaceship that is currently lost in orbit due to a failed cargo run to the International Space Station, will be plunging back to the Earth's atmosphere on Thursday and Friday. 

The capsule is filled with more than three tons of food including fuel and supplies for the space station crew and apparently started to fall from orbit at 10:04 P.M. EDT Thursday according to a Roscosmos press statement. Progress 59 spacecraft is currently flying over the central Pacific ocean region.

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The spacecraft is expected to burn up as soon as it hits re-entry during its high velocity descent back in the Earth's atmosphere. However, smaller pieces of the craft could survive and splash down the Pacific ocean.

Roscosmos said on Thursday that these few small pieces from structural elements can reach the planet's surface which is also similar to the end of most routine cargo missions of Progress. 

The capsule was launched last April 28 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan however it did not reach the ISS which is a US $100 billion orbiting laboratory located some 250 miles above the planet.

After the successful launch, mission ground control lost all contact with the Progress spaceship just shortly after it separated with its upper stage Soyuz rocket some nine minutes into the launch. Roscosmos also confirmed that an investigation of the mission failure is being carried out.

To date, Russia has flown 62 Progress cargo spaceships to the ISS except two that were not successful. Progress cargo freighters have been delivering goods to past Soviet space stations since 1978 including the Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 and Mir. Most capsules like these are specifically designed to burn up in the planet's  atmosphere after delivering cargo to a space station.

On the other hand, the U.S. has a contract with private space company SpaceX and Orbital ATK to deliver cargo to the ISS when the space shuttle missions ceased in 2011. All of SpaceX's cargo resupply missions are successful.

Tagsroscosmos, russian spacecraft failure, progress 59, Russian cargo ship, ISS, russian spacecraft burns in atmosphere, Russia space agency, roscosmos