Debris being monitored in first ever collision of space satellites

by Rich Bowden - Feb 12 2009, 04:47

Space debris is being monitored by NASA after the first ever reported collision of two satellites over Siberia on Tuesday.

The smash between a Russian satellite described as "defunct" by news sources, and a U.S. satellite owned by the company Iridium, occurred 780km (485 miles) above the Earth.

According to space experts, the debris should not be a problem for the International Space Station and other orbiting satellites, though close monitoring of the remnants of the two smashed satellites is taking place.

NASA officials said the collision was the first of its kind saying that "nothing to this extent" has happened before.

"This is a first, unfortunately," said Nicholas L. Johnson, chief scientist for orbital debris at NASA, to the New York Times. "We've had three other accidental collisions between what we call catalog objects, but they were all much smaller than this," he explained.

The so-called non-operational Russian satellite had been launched in 1993 and weighed 950kg (2,094lbs) reported the BBC. The U.S. Iridium satellite weighed 560kg (1,235lbs) and was launched in 1997.

Experts have warned that debris caused by the collision of two such satellites couild endanger other satellites.

Iridium Satelllite, the sat-phone company that owned the U.S. satellite, has said subscribers to its service may face temporary loss of service as a result of the crash.

"Although this event has minimal impact on Iridium's service," an official statement outlined, "the company is taking immediate action to address the loss."

Some 6,000 satellites have been launched into orbit since 1957.

Around the Web