Russian cargo flight to space station crashes
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/24/us-russia-space-idUSTRE77N4F52...

A Russian spacecraft supplying six astronauts aboard the International Space Station failed to reach orbit on Wednesday and burned up in the atmosphere, its debris crashing in Siberia, Interfax news reported.

Mission Control Moscow reported that communication with the Progress 44 cargo craft was lost seconds after its launch at 9 a.m. EDT today. Preliminary data from the Russian Federal Space Agency indicated there was a problem with the propulsion system, and that the vehicle did not reach its desired orbit.

Just after 11 a.m., Mission Control Moscow radioed a report to the crew on board the station:

Mission Control Moscow reported an abnormal situation from the Progress 44 cargo craft that launched on time at 9 a.m. EDT today.

Progress 44 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome into a cloudless sky at 7 p.m. Kazakhstan time bound for the International Space Station and a docking on Friday. At the time of launch, the space station was flying 230 miles over Equatorial Guinea on the west coast of Africa. The spacecraft is carrying 2.9 tons of food, fuel and supplies for the space station.