MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. Russia’s Progress MS-03 cargo spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) next week on January 31, a spokesman for Russia’s Mission Control told TASS on Friday.
"The operation to undock the spacecraft from the station is slated to begin on January 31 at 5:23 p.m. Moscow time (14:23 GMT)," the spokesman said adding that the cargo spacecraft would be later deorbited and its remains would be sunk about four hours later in the Pacific Ocean.
The Progress MS-03 blasted off from the Baikonur space station in Kazakhstan last year on July 17 and the space freighter docked with the ISS on July 19 delivering over two metric tonnes of cargo, including fuel, oxygen and foodstuffs as well as personal packages for the station’s crew members.
After fulfilling their missions to the ISS, space freighters are usually deorbited and burnt in the atmosphere on their way to the Earth. The spacecraft’s remains, which did not burn, are usually buried in the remote area of the Pacific Ocean.
The non-navigation area in question is also referred to as the "spaceship cemetery" and is located not far from Christmas Island. This is a designated area, where numerous spacecraft, including the defunct Soviet space station Mir, were sunk.