US and Russian satellites collide in Space
By admin on February 12, 2009 at 8:01 amTwo communication satellites from the US and Russia have collided in space. This first of it’s kind space satellite collision took place on Tuesday, about 800 kilometers above Siberia. The US satellite is owned by Satellite phone service provider Iridium, while the other satellite is said to be a non-functional Russian satellite.
Satellite Collision
NASA officials said the collision was the first of its kind saying that “nothing to this extent” had happened before. NASA also said that there is no risk to the International Space Station (ISS), as it orbits the earth some 435km below the . Experts are now closely monitoring the the debris of the satellite crash and hopes that most of them will burn in the earth atmosphere itself.
According to BBC, the so-called non-operational Russian satellite had been launched in 1993 and weighed 950kg (2,094lb). The US Iridium satellite weighed 560 kg and was launched in 1997. This satellite collision proves that there is a sever traffic jam in the orbit and some kid of clean up operations are needed. Since 1957, more than 6,000 satellites have been launched into the orbit. Now there are live satellites, defunct satellites and various space debris orbiting earth.
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Category: Space | Tags: ISS, Satellite Collision, Space