MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax-AVN) - The de-orbiting of the Volga booster unit which propelled into orbit two defense satellites, one of them distressed, may take several months, a source in the Russian rocket and space industry told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday.
"Given the parameters of the booster unit's orbit, the Volga will linger in outer space for at least several months," he said.
Two out of three objects created by the December 5 launch of a Soyuz-2.1v rocket from the Plesetsk spaceport are still in orbit: the Kosmos-2512 satellite and the Volga booster unit. The distressed satellite Kanopus-ST entered dense layers of the atmosphere and burned up on Tuesday.