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US, Russian sttellites collide in space
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Source: CCTV.com | 02-13-2009 08:53
Special Report: Tech MaxA privately-owned US communications satellite has collided with a defunct Russian satellite. This is the first ever crash of its kind in space.
Tuesday's incident occurred nearly 805 kilometers over Siberia, shooting out massive debris clouds.
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| A privately-owned US communications satellite has collided with a defunct Russian satellite.(CCTV.com) |
The collision involved an Iridium commercial satellite, which was launched in 1997, and a Russian satellite launched in 1993 and believed to be non-functioning.
Over 18-thousand pieces of debris are being tracked. NASA says the debris clouds pose a slight risk to the international space station.
NASA will take weeks to determine the full magnitude of the crash. Iridium says it expects to replace the lost satellite with one of its eight in-orbit spares within 30 days.
