ciocnire intre 2 sateliti

Two satellites collide in orbit



In an unprecedented space collision, a commercial Iridium communications satellite and a presumably defunct Russian Cosmos satellite ran into each other Tuesday above northern Siberia, creating a cloud of wreckage, officials said today.


An artist's concept of an Iridium satellite orbiting the Earth. Photo: Iridium


The international space station does not appear to be threatened by the debris, they said, but it's not yet clear whether it poses a risk to any other military or civilian satellites.

"They collided at an altitude of 790 kilometers (491 miles) over northern Siberia Tuesday about noon Washington time," said Nicholas Johnson, NASA's chief scientist for orbital debris at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "The U.S. space surveillance network detected a large number of debris from both objects."

One source said nearly 300 fragments were being tracked, but Johnson said it was not yet clear how much debris was generated.

"It's going to take a while," he said. "It's very, very difficult to discriminate all those objects when they're really close together. And so, over the next couple of days, we'll have a much better understanding. But it's at a minimum, I think we're talking many, many dozens, if not hundreds."

Asked which satellite was at fault, Johnson said "they ran into each other. Nothing has the right of way up there. We don't have an air traffic controller in space. There is no universal way of knowing what's coming in your direction."

Iridium Satellite LLC operates a constellation of some 66 satellites, along with orbital spares, to support satellite telephone operations around the world. The spacecraft, which weigh about 1,485 pounds when fully fueled, are in orbits tilted 86.4 degrees to the equator at an altitude of about 485 miles. Ninety-five Iridium satellites were launched between 1997 and 2002 and several have failed over the years.

"Yesterday, Iridium Satellite LLC lost an operational satellite," the company said in a statement. "According to information shared with the company by various U.S. government organizations that monitor satellites and other space objects (such as debris), it appears that the satellite loss is the result of a collision with a non-operational Russian satellite.

Mai pe romaneste spus :

Doi sateliti (nave spatiale intacte) au intrat in coliziune in timpul rotatiei pe orbita. Un purtator de cuvant al agentiei spatiale americane NASA, citat de BBC, a declarat ca unul dintre sateliti - folosit pentru comunicatii - este de origine americana, fiind lansat in anul 1997. Celalalt este un satelit militar rus, lansat in 1993. Coliziunea s-a produs la o altitudine de 800 km deasupra Siberiei si a provocat aparitia a doua mase de moloz spatial. Ambii sateliti cantareau peste 450 de kilograme.

NASA a anuntat, totodata, ca urmarile acestui accident vor fi cunoscute dupa cateva saptamani, insa a dat asigurari ca riscul unei activitati radioactive este minim.

Pe de alta parte, societatea Iridium - care exploateaza aparatul american - a anuntat ca a pierdut un satelit operational, subliniind ca este vorba despre unul dintre primele accidente majore de acest fel din spatiul cosmic. Surse din cadrul intreprinderii au precizat ca vor fi luate masurile necesare pentru inlocuirea satelitului distrus.

Iridium, care are o flota de 66 de sateliti de telecomunicatii, a dat asigurari ca accidentul nu poate fi imputat unei eventuale stari slabe ale satelitului sau, noteaza France Presse.

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Ciudata intamplare!

In spatiu sunt aproximativ 560 de sateliti artificiali ai pamantului si peste 26.000 de alte obiecte (resturi) ce graviteaza. Toti sateliti sunt monitorizati de United States Space Surveillance Network.
A fost vreun "sofer" incepator la joystick! :lol:

Probabil unul dintre sateliti nu a dat prioritate de dreapta. Sau prioritate de ... sus-jos , cà in spatiu o mai poti lua si pe aràturà.

Cine stie :) poate nu era un simplu satelit si-au dat rusii in el:lol: