Hundreds of stargazers report a fireball in the southeastern United States. earlier this week But this is not a natural phenomenon. But it's another case of dead satellites littering Earth's orbit.
The fireworks came from a decommissioned Chinese satellite that re-entered Earth's atmosphere on Saturday night. and was lit over New Orleans, Louisiana. The satellite's reentry resulted in bright streaks across the sky in several states. Including Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi. According to reports shared online Although the satellites pose no threat to onlookers, But the satellite's uncontrolled re-entry highlights the need for better control of unused space junk.
🚨Update: Chinese Surveillance Satellite Enters Earth's Atmosphere Over New Orleans, Louisiana!pic.twitter.com/UGyp8Tx5dz
– US Civil Defense News (@CaptCoronado) December 22, 2024
The American Meteor Society received 152 witnesses. report of seeing the fireball around 11:00 PM ET on December 22, but ignored this event saying 'It wasn't a real fireball' Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell later identified the source of the fireball as the Chinese imaging satellite SuperView 1-02, which had re-entered over New Orleans. again before heading north. write on X
Orbital height history of GJ1-02, the Chinese re-entry into the United States last night. pic.twitter.com/RrjEncYdvF
— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) December 22, 2024
SuperView 1-02 is operated by Beijing-based SpaceView. It was launched in December 2016 as one of two satellites in the civil remote sensing constellation. The two satellites are China's first high-resolution Earth imaging satellites. space.com– They were initially placed in the wrong orbit. It ended up in an elliptical orbit instead of an orbit and had to gradually increase its orbit over time to begin its mission.
SuperView 1-02 was decommissioned about two years ago. and released back into the Earth's atmosphere in an uncontrolled manner. Some satellite operators equip their spacecraft with controlled re-entry capabilities to reduce risk. But China is famous for Bathtub orbit etiquette– South China Morning Post overlooked the incident. Reporting The satellite returns again “Creates a spectacular light show. But there was no danger at all,” adding that “the incident happened accidentally.”
Inactive satellites orbiting Earth orbit are at high risk of colliding with other spacecraft. There are currently more than 27,000 pieces of orbital debris. follow by the Ministry of Defense's Global Space Surveillance Network along with small parts Many as well Drifting away undetected– Move around at high speed Even small pieces of material small meteoriteIt can be dangerous to spacecraft currently in orbit.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is developing methods to improve spacecraft re-entry capabilities to help reduce orbital debris. Destructive Reentry Assessment Object Container (DRACO)Launched in 2027, it is a satellite designed to collect data during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere after a short mission. A better understanding of the science of reentry may help scientists design future spacecraft that aren't at risk of damaging other machines. in space when they are decommissioned