[meteorite-list] SPACE JUNK

From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:43:26 -0600
Message-ID: <02ba01c7564c$c1c1df40$32ea8c46_at_ATARIENGINE>

Hi,

    In addition to the 700-odd pieces of China's
self-shot-down satellite, many of which will work
their way down to meteor like re-entries at various
future dates, you can add 1100+ more pieces of
defunct spaceware: http://spaceweather.com/

--------------------------------------------------------------------
    Australian astronomer Ray Palmer was photographing
the Southern Cross from his observatory in Western
Australia on Feb. 19th when a flaming plume cut across
the Milky Way. "I had no idea what it was," he says.
"It was moving very slowly and I was able to track
it for 35 minutes."
    In mid-apparition the object exploded. Gordon
Garradd of New South Wales photographed an
expanding cloud filled with specks of debris. Tim
Thorpe of South Australia saw it, too. "Quite a
surreal scene," he says.
    What was it? It was a mystery for almost 24 hours
until satellite expert Daniel Deak matched the trajectory
of the plume in Palmer's photo with the orbit of a
derelict rocket booster--"a Briz-M, catalog number
28944."
    One year ago, the Briz-M sat atop a Russian Proton
rocket that left Earth on Feb. 28, 2006, carrying an
Arabsat-4A communications satellite. Shortly after
launch, the rocket malfunctioned, leaving the satellite
in the wrong orbit and the Briz-M looping around
Earth partially-filled with fuel. On Feb. 19, 2007,
for reasons unknown, the fuel tanks ruptured over
Australia.
    Jon P. Boers of the USAF Space Surveillance
System confirms the ID and notes "later, on the
other side of the world, our radar saw 500+ pieces
in that orbit." Today the count is up to 1111 fragments.
"[We're seeing] more fragments as the cloud expands,"
he explains.
    One thousand-plus fragments makes this "a major
breakup event," says Mark Matney of NASA's Orbital
Debris Office at the Johnson Space Center. "There is
no immediate threat to the space station, but we're
analyzing the orbits to assess any long-term hazard."
    "Unlike recent high profile breakups, Briz-M is in
an orbit that is difficult for most radars to see," adds
Boers. "The generation of element sets on all the pieces
will take weeks to accomplish."
--------------------------------------------------------------------

    Maybe the Russian junker ran into some piece of the
Chinese junker?

    Depending on the orbit, some of this stuff will stay up
for generations and some will come down (to make holes
in New Hampshire ponds?) Since the Briz-M seems to
have exploded in all directions, we're likely to get some
pieces down before too long.

    There's a very colorful photo of the explosive trail,
visible for 35 minutes, as the Astronomy Picture of the
Day for today (02-22-07):
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html


Sterling K. Webb
Received on Thu 22 Feb 2007 01:43:26 AM PST