The outdated Pierce module from the Russian segment of the International Space Station crashed in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, according to DPA.
The Russian module “Pierce” separated from the module “Star” on the weekend. Today, he fell into the ocean with the cargo spacecraft “Progress MS-16”, according to the Russian space agency “Roscosmos”. The ISS veteran module crashed in a so-called “space cemetery” more than 3,000 km from the New Zealand capital, Wellington, in the Pacific area, where ships are not moving, the agency explained.
Pierce will soon be replaced by the science module Science, which was launched into orbit by a launch vehicle last week and is scheduled to dock with the Russian segment of the ISS on Thursday. It was originally planned that the launch of the Science module into space would take place in 2007, but its launch was postponed several times due to technical problems. The laboratory module is designed primarily for research, but also includes a room for astronauts.
The last time Russia launched a module to the ISS was 11 years ago, according to DPA.
Source: BTA