Object fallen in Australia a 1971 Soviet satellite?

A government observatory reports that a Soviet satellite may have crashed into northwest Australia Sunday night. It was not known if the craft was nuclear-powered.

Police reported several sightings of a "greenish-white" object falling to Earth near a mining town 850 miles north to Perth. A Perth observatory official who tracked the object said it was probably Cosmos 434 -- a Soviet satellite launched in 1971 and due for reentry Aug. 20. The official said if the satellite was carrying a large transmitter, it may have been nuclear-powered and could be radioactive.