Monday, February 25, 2008

Less than 3000 fragments of USA 193 tracked, none larger than a football

That is the word today from the DoD: "Based on debris analysis, officials are confident the Feb. 21 missile intercept and destruction of a nonfunctioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite was successful in destroying the fuel tank and reducing risk to people on Earth [...]. The Joint Functional Component Command for Space at the Joint Space Operations Center, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., is tracking less than 3,000 pieces of debris, all smaller than a football, which have not yet reentered the atmosphere.

To date, there have been no reports of debris landing on Earth, and it is unlikely any will remain intact to hit the ground [...]." How the whole affair played out for satellite watchers can now be listened to, courtesy of the Starlight Zone: M. Sluka describes his observations of the debris passing over British Columbia and T. Molczan talks about tracking USA 193 before its demise.

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