AKIPRESS.COM - A Russian spacecraft that is tumbling around the Earth after it malfunctioned en route to the International Space Station (ISS) could remain in orbit for more than a week before crashing down to Earth, according to the reports.

Thomas Reiter, director of human spaceflight and operations at the European Space Agency, said that if Russian engineers could not regain control of the stricken vessel it could spiral down to Earth within the next 10 days.

The launch of the Progress – riding on a Soyuz 2-1A for the first time – occurred at 07:09 GMT on Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. However, numerous problems have resulted in what is now a lost vehicle, as it was seen spinning wildly on orbit.

Igor Komarov, head of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said a safe docking with the ISS is not possible. "We are working out different options for a water landing.”

The Progress capsule is used to carry food, water, fuel and other supplies to the space station. Once it has been unloaded, it is designed to be jettisoned in a controlled re-entry over the southern Pacific that ensures any fragments that do not burn up in the atmosphere land in the ocean.U