Marco Langbroek, who did the reentry forecast that the linked article is based on, convincingly argues[0] that the bus did separate and reenter separately (in 1

Marco Langbroek, who did the reentry forecast that the linked article is based on, convincingly argues[0] that the bus did separate and reenter separately (in 1981) and what remains in orbit is just the lander. There are several independent pieces of evidence that are consistent with this; the orbital decay pattern, the radar cross section and optical telescope observations all point to only the lander itself remaining. See also his blog[1] for an up-to-date reentry forecast. [0]: https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4384/1 https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4384/1 [1]: https://sattrackcam.blogspot.com/2025/04/kosmos-842-descent-craft-reentry.html https://sattrackcam.blogspot.com/2025/04/kosmos-842-descent-...