A Russian satellite that could weigh as much as three tons is expected to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere soon, reportedly representing a ‘very real danger’ to densely populated areas.
The final movements of Kosmos-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 largely burn up as it passes through the atmosphere, experts said it was highly likely some fragments will survive to impact the planet’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 Kosmos-1220 may change due to external factors”. According to RIA Novosti, the exact size of the naval surveillance satellite has never been disclosed but the Tsiklon-2 rocket which put it into orbit in 1980 was
capable of carrying around three tons.
The uncertainty surrounding its re-entry time means debris from Kosmos-1220 could impact almost anywhere on earth, and Astronomy magazine editor David Eicher told the Fox News this could represent a genuine threat to populated areas.