MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th February, 2021) Russia's military communications satellite Meridian will descend from orbit back to Earth in April, according to US Air Force data, published on the space-track.org website.
Per the US military data, the satellite will enter Earth's atmosphere on April 14 at about midnight GMT. It has not been specified if some of the satellite's unburnt fragments will hit the ground, and the expected entry point has not been disclosed as well.
The satellite, designated as Meridian 2, was launched in May 2009 as one of seven such devices lifted off to orbit from 2006-2014. Due to technical issues, the satellite was launched to a lower orbit than originally planned but was still used in accordance with its designated purpose. The first of the Meridian series satellites became nonoperational after space debris had damaged its sealed container, while the fifth one failed to reach orbit.
In 2019-2020, Russia launched the first two upgraded Meridian-M satellited. In May last year, a space industry source told Sputnik that the country's defense ministry had ordered two additional satellites.
