Space freighter burns up after final trip

The European cargo spacecraft 'Edoardo Amaldi'burnt up during a planned crash into the South Pacific after its six-month mission came to an end early Wednesday, the European Space Agency ESA said, according to DPA. The 20-ton vehicle was the heaviest, largest and mostsophisticated spacecraft ever built in Europe. Named after theItalian physicist Edoardo Amaldi (1908-89), the freighter broughtseven tons of supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) atthe end of March. It was loaded with 1.3 tons of ISS refuse when it struck Earth. The ISS on Wednesday was at an increased level of readinessbecause of an approaching piece of space junk at an altitude of 420kilometres above earth, flight controllers in Moscow said.'We analyze the trajectory, then we decide on a possible evasive manoeuvre,' said a spokesman for the Russian space agency Roskosmos.