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The Persei booster was launched for a test mission on Dec. 27 by the heavy-lift Angara-A5 rocket. However, the upper-stage booster failed to enter Earth's orbit as planned. Instead, it began inevitably being pulled back toward the atmosphere by Earth's gravity for an expected return to the surface in bits and pieces (if at all) on Wednesday afternoon, Pacific time. The rocket is thought to have weighed around 20 tons, but over 75% of that mass would have been in fuel that almost certainly would have burned up in the atmosphere. The 18th Space Control Squadron of the US Space...

Roscosmos, Russia’s state space agency, launched its Angara A5 rocket as part of a demonstration on Monday, NASASpaceflight.com reports. The spacecraft was headed towards graveyard orbit, a region of space around Earth where satellites are typically directed to at the end of their operational life. Before the rocket could reach its final destination, though, its upper stage engine failed two seconds into its second burn. This left the rocket and its dummy payload stranded in very low Earth orbit. The rocket is actually so low that it’s now expected to go through an uncontrolled reentry, according to some experts. Jonathan...