Missing: One Russian spy satellite

So where is it?
Amateur satellite trackers were able to determine that the return to Earth had indeed been deliberate. Kosmos-2410 had been in a stable orbit, well above the atmosphere. In order to drop out of orbit suddenly, it had to have fired a braking rocket. But what happened next –- controlled burn-up or intact-touchdown –- remained unknown.

Then, on Jan. 21, Kommersant’s Safronov revealed another space scoop: the satellite was supposed to have landed safely, but now it couldn’t be found. A special commission had already been formed to investigate the loss, he reported.

Safranov also reported that "one of the reasons for the satellite’s early landing could have been the malfunction of its flight control system," noting that the Kobalt was observed by U.S. space radar "making uncharacteristic maneuvers.” Although this control problem was supposedly overcome, a decision was made to cut short the mission.

“However, before the satellite came off the orbit in order to land at the base in the Orenburg steppe, two large fragments detached from it,” Safranov wrote. This unusual event was also observed on radar by the Americans, he said. He noted also that the satellite had already jettisoned two small film canisters that had come back safely in the previous few months.

As with all Russian spy satellites, he explained, Kosmos-2410 was equipped with explosive charges to destroy it if it threatened to come down outside of Russia. But this didn’t happen, so the presumption was that it was somewhere within Russia, perhaps far from the search area. Alternate theories include a failure of the parachute system that led to a high-speed impact that buried the vehicle, or failure of the heat shield that led to near-total disintegration.

Safranov’s report was confirmed by the Novosti press agency, whose military reporters have their own trusted sources within the Russian Ministry of Defense. But no other Russian news agency mentioned the story, aside from local papers in the recovery zone. There, the Orenburg daily Orenburzhye described how the search areas had been widened to include Abdulinsk, Bashkiriya, and Samara provinces, but without success.

Novosti’s source discounted the theory that the spacecraft had burned up. "The device's descent took place on a controlled basis,” he pointed out, “which to be sure made it possible to define the assumed landing area more or less precisely." Surviving fragments would have been found.

"On occasion,” Novosti’s expert continued, “it has taken several days even to find cosmonauts who have landed on Earth, although incomparably more efforts and resources are then involved in the search operation."

And Safranov pointed out that a test landing of a new recovery system five years ago in the same region at the same time of year wasn’t located for months -– and by then, local thieves had carted the main space vehicle away for its scrap metal.

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