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Molnia-1T satellite fragments to fall down in the Pacific

The satellite's orbit parameters were under constant control
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, April 7 (Itar-Tass) — Fragments of the Molnia-1T satellite is expected to fall down in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean in the next few hours, Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin, an official spokesman for the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, told Itar-Tass.

He said that according to preliminary reports of the space intelligence center of the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, the fragments that hadn’t burned in dense atmospheric layers could reach the Earth’s surface at around 03:17 in the morning Moscow time.

Zolotukhin noted that the satellite's orbit parameters were under constant control.

The American space control system is making approximately the same predictions with regards to where the satellite is going to fall. The Americans believe that will take place at 01:26 Moscow time in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean on Saturday.

The Molnia-1T communication satellite was launched from a space launch site in Plesetsk on August 16, 1996. Its designed life expectancy is two years. The mass is 1.6 tons.