Russian space chief suggests sabotage interfered with Phobos-Grunt

New York Times : The Russian spacecraft Phobos-Grunt, launched this past November, wound up stranded in low-Earth orbit shortly after launch instead of heading for Mars’s larger moon Phobos as planned. It’s expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere this Saturday. In an interview with the newspaper Izvestia, Vladimir Popovkin, chief of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), said that the craft may have failed as a result of sabotage, via an antisatellite weapon or interference with the craft while it was on the ground. He did not state who he thought the saboteur might be; his remarks have been taken as most probably referring to the US. Roscosmos spokesman Alexei Kuznetsov has refused to elaborate on Popovkin’s comments, which contrasted sharply with the cooperative spirit of recent Russian civilian space endeavors carried out in partnership with NASA, the European Space Agency, and other foreign partners.