Out of control Russian spacecraft falling to Earth will disintegrate over sea imminently

The unmanned cargo ship was supposed to deliver equipment to the International Space Station

A Russian spacecraft will fall back to Earth after contact was lost.

The Progress M-27M is expected to disintegrate upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere between 22:23 GMT Thursday and 06:55 GMT Friday, and the falling fragments are projected to fall into the ocean.

The unmanned spacecraft launched from Kazakhstan last Tuesday, however a communications failure occurred shortly after an attempt to dock and control of the craft was lost.

Since the malfunction, the spacecraft has been falling slowly over the Pacific and the Americas.

The unmanned cargo ship was supposed to deliver three tonnes of equipment, including food, water, fuel, oxygen and clothing to the six person crew on the International Space Station.

Although the Progress cargo ship has a good track record, this is the second loss of a robotic space freighter in the past six months. Last October, Orbital Sciences Corp suffered an explosion on launch of its cargo ship intended for the orbiting laboratory.

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said: "Only a few small parts of elements of its construction could reach the surface of our planet."

The astronauts have enough supplies to keep them going until the next expected delivery on 19 June, by the U.S. company SpaceX.

Additional reporting AP