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Russia’s Progress MS-08 space freighter starts deorbit burn

At about 05:07 Moscow time, the spacecraft’s unburned fragments will splash down in a non-navigational area of the Pacific

A Progress spacecraft NASA

A Progress spacecraft

MOSCOW, August 30. /TASS/. Engines of Russia’s Progress MS-08 spacecraft were switched on to perform a deorbit burn, a Russian Mission Control Center official said on Thursday.

"The space freighter’s engines have been switched on for a retrograde burn as scheduled," the source said.

The engines will work for three minutes. Once they are switched off, the spacecraft will began a reentry maneuver. The estimated reentry time is 04:58 Moscow time.

At about 05:07 Moscow time, the spacecraft’s unburned fragments will splash down in a non-navigational area of the Pacific Ocean.

In accordance with the ISS flight program, the Progress MS-08 undocked from the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) on August 23, 2018. For the next seven days, it was used in a scientific experiment.

Progress MS-08 had been docked with the ISS since February 11, 2018.

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