Russian probe cosmos-1220 set to crash
17 Feb 2014 6:43 AM IST
A Russian satellite, weighing as much as three tons is expected to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday. Some say it presents a ‘very real danger’ to densely populated areas. The final movements of Cosmos-1220, a decommissioned Soviet military device, are being monitored by Russian space officials, and Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin told the news agency RIA Novosti that it would begin an uncontrolled descent on Sunday.
Though the satellite will mostly burn up as it passes through the atmosphere, experts said it was highly likely some fragments will survive to impact Earth’s surface.
Colonel Zolotukhin said the debris was expected to come down somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, but added that the ‘impact time and location of the fragments from Cosmos-1220 may change due to external factors’. According to RIA Novosti, the exact size of the naval surveillance satellite has never been disclosed. The uncertainty surrounding its re-entry time means debris from Cosmos-1220 could impact almost anywhere on Earth.
Though the satellite will mostly burn up as it passes through the atmosphere, experts said it was highly likely some fragments will survive to impact Earth’s surface.
Colonel Zolotukhin said the debris was expected to come down somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, but added that the ‘impact time and location of the fragments from Cosmos-1220 may change due to external factors’. According to RIA Novosti, the exact size of the naval surveillance satellite has never been disclosed. The uncertainty surrounding its re-entry time means debris from Cosmos-1220 could impact almost anywhere on Earth.
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