[McGruff]

Some good coverage here:

http://www.theguardian.com/science/live/2015/apr/29/unmanned-russian-cargo-spacecraft-m-27m-falling-to-earth-live

While our media is fixated on Baltimore.

[McGruff]

Thomas Reiter, director of human spaceflight and operations at the European Space Agency, just told me that if the Russians cannot regain control over the spacecraft, it could be up there for a week and a half max.

Normally, these vessels are jettisoned on controlled re-entry paths over the south Pacific, so that any fragments that survive burnup land in the ocean. This would be an uncontrolled re-entry, so some pieces could make it to land.

But the danger to people is very slim. More than two-thirds of Earth are covered in water and only about 3% of the land is occupied by urban areas.