Mr. Popovkin’s remarks in the newspaper Izvestia were the first high-level suggestion of nefarious interference. A retired commander of Russia’s missile warning system had speculated in November that strong radar signals from installations in Alaska might have damaged the spacecraft.
The statements almost seems, like statements from back in the cold war.
“We don’t want to accuse anybody, but there are very powerful devices that can influence spacecraft now,” Mr. Popovkin said in the interview. “The possibility they were used cannot be ruled out.
United States Strategic Command acknowledged, tracking the russian probe and it likely will fall in the next week. “Predictions of re-entry date, time and location can change significantly due to many changing factors, such as solar weather and orientation of the spacecraft,” the statement said. “These predictions become more accurate as the event approaches.”
UPDATE: 01.13.2012 – According to Russian Space Agency, the probes reentry should start Sunday evening Russian time. The impact could take place in a wide area covering the Pacific and Atlantic ocean.
