WORLD : Soviet Spacecraft to Lose Orbit
A Soviet spacecraft tumbling out of control will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere within a few weeks but should burn up and pose little threat to anyone on the ground, an official of Glavkosmos space agency said today.
He said the Salyut 7 space station is likely to re-enter in late January or early February. Its trajectory was impossible to predict for the moment.
Salyut-7, precursor of the current Mir space station, was launched in 1982 and original plans called for it to remain in space until at least 1998.
The craft was moved to a more remote orbit in 1986 after it failed to respond to commands from Earth and was replaced by the Mir, which is now almost permanently manned by a crew of two.
The Glavkosmos official said the spacecraft’s fall was caused by unexpectedly high solar activity in 1990, which had slowed its orbiting speed.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
