At dawn this Wednesday (20), residents of several cities in the Midwest of the USA spotted one fire ball in the sky. This time, it was not a meteor, but a Russian spy satellite that incinerated upon re-entry to Earth.
More than 80 reports have been received by the American Meteor Society (AMS) about the sight of fire from people in southern Tennessee and northern Michigan.
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AMS has posted footage captured by some of these observers, including the video below, taken by Chris Johnson, which shows the object blazing a trail through the skies above Fort Gratiot Township, Michigan.
According to the Space website, the fireball ignited around 00:43 EDT (1:43 GMT) today, according to the AMS, leaving little doubt about its cause. That’s because this was exactly the scheduled time the Kosmos-2551 satellite passed through the region.
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Russian satellite failed shortly after launch
Kosmos-2551 is a reconnaissance satellite launched by Russia on the 9th of last month, which apparently failed shortly thereafter. The spacecraft has not adjusted its orbit since takeoff, according to astronomer and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
The incineration of Kosmos-2551 probably did not threaten anyone on Earth’s surface. The satellite “must only be about 500 kg and no debris is expected to reach the ground,” McDowell said.
fireballs of space junk, although often spectacular, are not particularly rare. Last year, for example, the third-stage re-entry of a Soyuz rocket caused a brilliant show in the sky over parts of Australia during the launch of a Russian military satellite.
These incidents are becoming more common as humanity launches more and more satellites into orbit. This explosion of satellites worries many experts, who emphasize that action is needed to ensure that the space debris issue does not get out of hand.
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