Chinese satellite's break up over Missouri dazzles witnesses
A defunct Chinese satellite created a light show across the southern United States Sunday night, prompting over 120 reports of fireball sightings, as it made an uncontrolled reentry into Earth's atmosphere.
ST. LOUIS -- A defunct Chinese satellite created a dramatic light show across the southern United States Sunday night as it made an uncontrolled reentry into Earth's atmosphere. This prompted more than 120 reports of fireball sightings from witnesses who initially believed they were seeing a meteor shower. Some of the reports are from Missouri.
The SuperView-1 02, a commercial imaging satellite that had been inactive since January 2023, was observed breaking up over several states, including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Missouri around 10 p.m., according to the American Meteor Society.
Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks spacecraft, confirmed the satellite's reentry on social media platform X. While officials knew the "space junk" would return to Earth on Sunday, they could only estimate the timing within a two-hour window.
The satellite, originally launched from Taiyuan, China in 2016, was operated by Beijing's Siwei Star Co. Ltd. as part of a four-satellite constellation orbiting at an altitude of 500 kilometers. After being switched off nearly two years ago, the spacecraft had been gradually drifting downward toward Earth.
Multiple witnesses across the southeastern United States observed the satellite as it traveled northbound, creating a spectacular display as it burned up in the atmosphere.
The incident marks the latest example of space debris returning to Earth, highlighting ongoing concerns about the increasing amount of defunct satellites and other objects in orbit around our planet.
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