2 Oct 2013 09:25

Russian satellite Molniya-3-45 may fall on Earth on January 1, 2014 - forecast

MOSCOW. Oct 2 (Interfax-AVN) - Forty-five of the 158 launched communication spacecraft Molniya now remain on the orbits of artificial Earth satellites and 12 of them are expected to end their ballistic existence by 2030, the Interstate Joint-Stock Corporation (MAK) Vympel (part of the concern PVO Almaz-Antei) told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday.

"The first of them, Molniya-3-45, may cease its ballistic existence on January 1, 2014. This date is a tentative one and was obtained based on a study of the trajectory parameters as of March 23, 2013 and may be specified later," MAK Vympel said."

"According to the corporation experts' estimations, 33 of these 45 spacecraft will fall on Earth after 2030 and 12 before 2030," the source said.