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[9/3/13]
A small Russian spacecraft in orbit appears to have been struck by remnants of a destroyed Chinese satellite. It’s just the second time in history that an active spacecraft has collided with an artificial object while in orbit.[9/3/13]
The collision took place between
Russia’s Ball Lens in the Space (BLITS) spacecraft and China’s Fengyun
1C satellite, according to the Center for Space Standards &
Innovation (CSSI), based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The collision
appears to have occurred on January 22, although it took over a month to
determine what exactly hit the craft.
The Chinese
material is considered to be “space junk” left over from when the
Chinese craft was destroyed in a 2007 anti-satellite demonstration when
the Fengyun 1C was intentionally demolished after exceeding its service
life. The debris has posed a threat to satellites and crewed spacecraft
ever since, according to Space.com.
The space
collision involving BLITS was first reported on February 4 by Russian
scientists Vasiliy Yurasov and Andrew Nazarenko, of the Institute for
Precision Instrument Engineering (IPIE) in Moscow. They reported a “significant change” in the orbit of the BLITS satellite to CSSI, as well as changes in the spacecraft’s spin velocity and altitude.
“As
a result, an abrupt change occurred to the BLITS orbit parameters (a
decrease of the orbiting period),” ILRS officials said. The BLITS spin
period changed from 5.6 seconds before collision to 2.1 seconds after
collision. The craft also experienced a sudden decrease of 120 meters in
the semi-major axis of its orbit.
While the BLITS
satellite weighs 7.5kg, the weight of the piece that struck it may only
be around .08 grams. BLITS is a retroreflector demonstration satellite
built for precision satellite laser-ranging experiments. It was launched
in 2009 and expected to last five years in space.
It remains unclear whether the satellite is merely damaged or completely non-functioning.
The
collision marks the second time that an active spacecraft has collided
with another artificial object in space. In February 2009, a US
communications satellite was hit by a defunct Russian military
satellite, creating a large debris cloud in orbit.
.english.ruvr.ru
9/3/13
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