[meteorite-list] Rocket Booster Reentry Lights Up Early Morning Sky in Colorado

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2007 11:16:47 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <200701041916.LAA19693_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070104/NEWS01/70104011

Rocket booster lights up early morning sky
The Coloradoan
January 4, 2007

It wasn't a meteor, it was rocket booster

A brilliant object that burned in the early morning sky was a Russian
booster rocket re-entering the atmosphere over Colorado and Wyoming,
according to NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command.

There was an initial report that a piece of the rocket landed in
Riverton, Wyo., near U.S. Highway 28, around 6:13 a.m., according to
NORAD's Web site. It's also possible that pieces of the object broke off
during re-entry over Colorado.

No damage has been reported and the debris is not believed to be
hazardous, according to the NORAD Web site.

NORAD identified the rocket as an SL-4 used to launch a French space
telescope in December.

Calls to police and media started coming in shortly after 6:15 a.m. from
locals who reported seeing an "unreal" bright light slowly streaking
across the sky from north to south.

The object was described as soaring across the horizon with an extremely
bright head that broke apart and a tail that emitted sparks or smoke.

"You could clearly see the trailing smoke lit up in the tail," said Mike
Fajardo, who saw the spectacle from his home in south Fort Collins.

"When I first saw it, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but
after another glance it amazed me, the brilliance and magnitude of this
event," said witness Jim Siefken.

Siefken said the object moved so slowly he questioned whether it was a
meteor.

"It moved slowly compared to meteors that I have witnessed in the past -
my first thought was a large plane, but it moved too long and too
straight to be wreckage," he said.

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http://keyetv.com/national/topstories_story_004123436.html

NORAD: Burning Debris In Sky Was Russian Rocket

Military Reported The Streaking Light Over Colorado May Have
Crashed In Wyoming

(CBS) DENVER The brilliant streak of light that raced across the sky
west of Denver Thursday morning was a Russian rocket re-entering the
atmosphere, NORAD and U.S. Northern Command reported.

The military agencies said that an SL-4 rocket body re-entered the
atmosphere over Colorado and Wyoming.

Copter4 was able to captured the debris on tape as it flew over
Denver.

Several CBS4 viewers called the newsroom to report seeing the light
show.

It is possible that pieces of the object broke off during reentry
over states neighboring Colorado.

NORAD said it was also aware of an initial report that a piece
landed in Riverton, Wyo., near highway 28, around 6:13 a.m.

There were no reports of damage and the debris is not believed to
be hazardous, according to NORAD.

People can log on to www.cloudbait.com to report sightings of the
space debris to scientists who will investigate further and create
official reports.
Received on Thu 04 Jan 2007 02:16:47 PM PST