Russian Military Satellite to Splash Down in Pacific

RIA Novosti

17:59 06/04/2012 MOSCOW, April 6 (RIA Novosti) - A defunct Russian military communication satellite, Molniya-1-89, is expected to fall Saturday morning in the Pacific Ocean, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Alexei Zolotukhin said.

“Fragments of the Molniya satellite that do not burn up in the upper atmosphere may reach the earth’s surface on Saturday, April 7,” he said.

The satellite is expected to fall in the Pacific at 63°S 158°E, he added.

The 1.6-ton satellite is currently at 2,378 km above earth’s surface and is continually monitored by Space Defense Force specialists.

It was launched in August 1996 from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia.

Molniya-1T series satellites were replaced by the Meridian-series in 2006.