Russian Defence Ministry Denies Malfunction of Kosmos-2421 Military Satellite

Excerpt from report by corporate-owned Russian military news agency Interfax-AVN website

Moscow, 15 April: The Kosmos-2421 military satellite has been taken out of service and remains in its orbit, the Russian Defence Ministry’s Information and Public Relations Directorate has said.

“In connection with reports published in some mass media alleging that the Kosmos-2421 satellite has disintegrated, we would like to report that its planned flight programme has been fulfilled. After switching off its on-board equipment, the satellite was taken out of service in accordance with the established procedure”, reads the directorate’s report received by Interfax-AVN today.

According to the Defence Ministry, “the Kosmos-2421 satellite remains in its orbit, the parameters of which correspond to the predicted ones, and is under steady observation by means of the national system of space control”.

The ministry added that there are three more space objects in orbits close to Kosmos-2421. “One of them is a stage vehicle of a carrier rocket, and the other two – fragments of a launch [vehicle]“, the report says. [Passage omitted on "a NASA website" report on the alleged disintegration of the satellite; background]

Originally published by Interfax-AVN military news agency website, Moscow, in Russian 1431 15 Apr 08.

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