MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/. The Progress MS-18 spacecraft, which earlier on Wednesday separated from the International Space Station, has been dumped in the Pacific Ocean far away from busy shipping routes, Russia’s space corporation Roscosmos said.
At 14:11 Moscow time the spacecraft’s engine was burned for four minutes for the braking maneuver.
"After that the Progress left its orbit and ceased to exist. Some unburned fragments fell into the Pacific Ocan away from busy shipping routes at 14:51:10 Moscow time," Roscosmos said on its Telegram channel.
The cargo spacecraft has vacated a docking port for the Progress MS-20 vehicle, to be launched and docked with the ISS on June 3. The Progress MS-18’s engines were burned nine times to adjust the ISS orbit, including three times to avoid collision with space debris.
Earlier, TASS special correspondent, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemiev, reported that about 1.3 tonnes of debris and end-of-life equipment would be removed from the ISS along with Progress MS-18. The crew members had done their utmost to load the spacecraft to capacity, because the dumping of the next "truck" is due only after a long while. The Progress MS-19, launched in February, will be part of the station for twelve months.
Progress MS is a Russian automatic spacecraft, created especially for servicing orbital outposts. Its task is to deliver various cargoes (fuel, research equipment, oxygen, water and food) to the ISS, as well as to correct its orbit.